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VEGETABLE 
GARDEN 




DA. D.BENNETT 






Class S t^^7-\ 

Book . B 4-JT.- 

GopyrightN^ . 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



THE 

COUNTRY HOME 

LIBRARY 

VOL. I 

The Country Home 

VOL. II 

The Orchard and Fruit 
Garden 

VOL. Ill 

The Flower Garden 

UNIFORM BINDING 
S Vols. Postpaid, $5.00, Net, $4.60 





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GIBR.VLT.U5 ONIONS, ONE OF THE BI':ST FOR THE HOME GARDEN 

[See page 149J 



Country Home Library 

rHE 
FEGETABLE GARDEN 

BY IDA D. BENNETT 

AUTHOR OF THE FLOWER GARDEN 




ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS 



NEW YORK 

THE McCLURE COMPANY 

MCMVIII 



iQ 



K^^ 



Copyright^ ipo8, by The McClure Company 



Published, May, 1908 



- — ^.~. I. .. — — -^ 
iwu OouiAS rteceitei.' 

JUN 20 lyod 

OL^S^A XXc. ,11.. 
\ 2_ « O 6 5 

COl-'Y 3. 






A NOTE 

The author desires to acTcnowledge valuable assistance re- 
ceived from Dr. E. Porter Felt and William C. McCoUom 
in the preparation of the chapter on Spraying; from Parker 
Thayer Barnes in the preparation of the chapter on Fertil- 
ising and the chapter on Garden Tools. She also wishes to 
express her indebtedness to Prof Samuel T. Maynard for 
his carefd revision of the text of the entire work. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Sanitary and Economic Value of the 

Kitchen Garden 3 

II. The Location of the Garden 12 

III. Planning the Garden 22 

IV. How to Maintain Fertility 29 

V. The Construction and Care of Hotbeds, Cold- 
frames, AND Pits 47 

VI. On the Sowing of Seed 75 

VII. Transplanting 84 

VIII. Tools which Make Gardening Easy 96 

IX. On the Growing of Various Vegetables 104 

X. Root Vegetables 141 

. XI. Vine Vegetables and Fruits 17,5 

XII. Greens and Salad Vegetables 194 

XIII. Perennial Vegetables 206 

XIV. Storing Vegetables in Winter 226 
XV. The Garden's Enemies 233 

XVI. Fall Work in the Garden 247 



[vii] 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Gibraltar Onions, One of the Best for the Home 
Garden Frontispiece 



PACING 
PAGE 



A Garden Plan 28 

Liquid Manure is One op the Best Acting Fertilizers 32 

A Single but Serviceable Hotbed 48 

Temporary Hotbeds in a City Back Yard 54 

Straw Mat for Use in Very Cold Weather 64 

Showing Vegetables Growing in Hotbed 72 

Paper Collar to Protect Plant from Cut Worms 88 

A Home-Made Dibble 88 

The Wheel Hoe is the Handiest Garden Tool 98 
The Easiest Running Wheel Hoe Valuable for Main- 
taining A Dust Mulch 98 

A Scuffle Mounted on Wheels 100 
The Scuffle Hoe is Easier to Work than the Ordi- 
nary Hoe 100 

A Good Collection of Home-Grown Vegetables 104 

Lettuce Maturing in Home-Made Coldframe 104 

[ix] 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 

PAGE 

Cauliflower Leaves Drawn Over the Head to 

Blanch It 114 

Peas as They Appear when Properly Grown 114 

Bush Bean Started in Kitchen Window April 10th 134 
Product of Window Garden. Peach Tomatoes, October 

13th 134 

White Apple Tomatoes 134 

Red Pear Tomatoes 134 

Japanese Climbing Cucumber Nearly Six Feet from 

the Ground 182 

Well-Grown Cucumbers 182 

A Perfectly Grown Muskmelon 188 

FoRDHOOK Early Watermelons 188 

Celery Banked with Earth to Blanch It 230 

Spraying with a Barrel Pump 244 

Spraying with a Bucket Pump 244 

A Practical Planting Table 256 



[^] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



CHAPTER ONE 

THE SANITARY AND ECONOMIC VALUE OF 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN 



rvECENT legislation has focused public atten- 
tion in no small degree upon the subject of pure 
food. Just what goes into the composition of the 
food we eat is becoming more and more a matter 
of inquiry by the consumer. It is doubtful, how- 
ever, if the law requiring the constituents of tinned 
goods and sealed packages to be printed on the 
outside of the packages meets the full require- 
ments of the case. It is probable that quite as much 
adulterated food is sold as at any time previous 
to the passage of the law. JMany manufacturers 
rely upon the proneness of people to accept a thing 
as a fact without the trouble of personal investiga- 
tion. Few people, it may be supposed, take the 
trouble to read the labels on the goods they buy, 
at least not until they are delivered at the house, 
and it is doubtful if the few who do take the pre- 
caution are much wiser for their pains. The bo- 

[3] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



tanical and scientific names of the various adulter- 
ants convey little or no meaning to the average 
consumer. Still, anything in tin that has come 
through the government inspections and the wide 
publicity given the unsavoury details by the press 
of the country, is looked upon with a certain 
amount of suspicion by the general public. 

The result of this suspicion has been to increase, 
in no small degree, the consumption of fresh 
fruits and vegetables by all classes. One naturally 
has confidence in anything which comes to her in its 
original form. It does not seem possible for any- 
thing to be other than it seems, and of this class 
of products the most inexperienced housewife feels 
confident to judge. If a cabbage is clean and 
bright — the outer leaves green and fresh, the in- 
side fresh and crisp — what more could one ask? 
Well, to the initiated there does sometimes arise 
a question as to how all this immaculate crispness 
and freedom from the trail of the worm was 
attained. After even a few years' experience in the 
growing of cabbages and allied plants, one comes 
to know that their growing on any large scale, 
especially on old land, is not the simple or always 

the cleanly thing it seems. 

[4] 



VALUE OF THE KITCHEN GARDEN 



It is safe to assume that the average farmer and 
market gardener who raises cabbages for market 
is fairly conscientious in his methods. But this is 
not true of all, and it is not an unknown thing to 
hear of isolated cases where Paris green has been 
used freely after the heads are set on both cabbage 
and cauliflowers. 

The use of Paris green on potatoes is an estab- 
lished practice, unavoidably so on plantings of any 
extent. All the products of the vine — cucumbers, 
squash, and melons — are subject to more or less 
** doping " at the hands of the professional, and 
currants, gooseberries, and grapes do not always 
escape their share of the death-dealing chemicals. 
Now there is little doubt that much of the appli- 
cations used are, when applied early in the growth 
of the plant, ere yet it has set its fruit or formed 
a head, is harmless, but after a plant has made 
advanced growth, it is certainly the part of wisdom 
to keep it as near harmless to the human digestive 
tract as possible. 

Anyone who has watched the action of the vari- 
ous insecticides, which may be plant poisons that 
kill the plants on which they are sprayed by en- 
tering into the circulation and destroying root and 

[5] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



all, cannot but wonder how far the usual insect- 
icides, especially the arsenates, may go in the cir- 
culation of the plants to which they are applied. 
There are certain plant-poisons — herbicides — on the 
market which it is claimed will kill out scrub oak, 
burdock, Canada thistle, and like persistent peren- 
nial growths; whether it does it or not, the fact 
remains that plants have the power of absorbing 
and carrying through the sap circulation to a 
limited degree foreign matter applied upon the 
surface. 

It is considerations like this which make the 
growing of one's own kitchen vegetables so desir- 
able, for though it may be practically necessary for 
the large grower to employ the aid of various 
poisons in order to produce a crop of any or many 
specific vegetables, on the restricted area of the 
home garden in many cases it is neither necessary 
nor desirable. 

There is another point that has weight with the 
careful housewife — that of perfect cleanliness. If 
vegetables look clean and fresh one is apt to infer 
that they are fresh from the garden. This may 
be anything but the case. Market gardeners are 
not independent of time and seasons any mor^ 

[6] 



VALUE OF THE KITCHEN GARDEN 



than the rest of mankind, and often find their 
crop ripening in advance of the market; especially 
is this the case in small cities or country towns, 
and the vegetables bought as fresh may have lain 
in the cellar of the gardener or green grocer for 
a week or more, and finally been sorted out from 
a heap of decaying matter and given a bath to 
make them presentable for offering for sale. 

Much of the garden stuff offered in the open 
market or peddled from door to door was gath- 
ered the day before or even earlier and hauled long 
distances in an uncovered waggon over a dusty 
road, and we all know of what the dust of the 
road is composed, afterwards to lie exhibited on 
open stalls in markets or in front of stores, ex- 
posed to the flies or the attentions of every pass- 
ing dog — and the benches are seldom above high- 
water mark — and the unspeakable dust and filth 
of the streets. 

All this bids one pause when tempted to order 
one's daily supply of fresh vegetables from one's 
local grocer. Certainly it should, if one has a bit 
of land at command and the strength and ambi- 
tion to work it or even the will to hire it worked, 
for there is profit, real and realisable profit, in the 

[7] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



growing of one's own vegetables. Profit of health 
and of pocket for the expense of a small kitchen 
garden, properly managed, is light, the returns 
certain and enjoyable. 

There are no vegetables like those which come 
wet with the morning dew from one's own garden 
to grace the breakfast table with the toothsome 
crispness of the scarlet radish or the fresh cool- 
ness of lettuce. Sweet corn, when detached from 
the parent stalk and has felt the heat of the day, 
loses half its sweetness; and peas have a delicate 
flavour easily impaired by lying in heaps, even 
though in a cool place. 

To my mind there is nothing more dishearten- 
ing on a marketing expedition than the sight of 
the limp vegetables exposed for sale, and it must 
indeed be a dearth in the family larder which in- 
duces me to purchase. 

As to the expense incurred in growing one's 
own vegetables, it will be found comprised for the 
main part in the fitting of the land for planting 
and the trifling outlay for seeds. All varieties of 
seed, with the exception of peas, are of small cost. 
The usual five- or ten-cent packets of most kinds 
will be found ample. Where more than this amount 

[8] 



VALUE OF THE KITCHEN GARDEN 



is required, it will be well to buy it by the ounce. 
By first measuring the ground and then studying 
those catalogues which give the quantity of seed 
required to plant a given area — as an hundred feet 
of drill — one can estimate very closely the exact 
amount required of any variety. Of course where 
this is done one must calculate on purchasing 
good seed of reliable dealers, planting it properly 
and giving the plants suitable culture after they 
are up. One must not sow it in any haphazard way 
and expect good results. 

It is very rarely that one family will find use for 
all the products of a garden, be it ever so small, 
and, if one is so inclined, the surplus will find ready 
sale among one's neighbours. Especially is this 
the case with the early plants from the hotbeds. 
A very good plan, when one wishes a great vari- 
ety of vegetables and has but a limited amount 
of room in which to grow them, is to arrange with 
a neighbour to co-operate in the garden work and 
each take certain things. His land, perhaps, may 
seem more suited for, or he have more knowledge 
of the culture of certain plants; then let him grow 
of these enough for both gardens, while you un- 
dertake those which he does not grow. This 

[9] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



insures a great variety of vegetables at the mini- 
mum amount of work and outlay. Possibly your 
neighbour's land is a little wet and low and well 
adapted to the growing of cabbage and cauli- 
flowers, while yours may be a warm, sandy loam, 
especially suited to grow melons, or you may have 
turned under a piece of sod land which is not suffi- 
ciently tractable for growing root crops or those 
needing close cultivation, but will do admirably 
for corn or potatoes, while his ground may have 
been in cultivation for years and in so fine a state 
of tilth as to answer admirably for onions, radishes, 
lettuce, and the like. 

Again, your neighbour may have a horse and 
be able to do the greater part of his work with it, 
while your ground must be cultivated by hand; it 
will then pay best if he shall undertake the grow- 
ing of larger crops, which may best be handled 
with a horse cultivator. Corn, cabbage, cauli- 
flowers, potatoes, and such vegetables, which are 
usually planted three feet apart, may be worked 
to advantage this way, while the smaller vegeta- 
bles — carrots, onions, peas, parsnips, and tomatoes, 
which sprawl so that it is difficult to work among 

them with a horse after they have made much 

[10] 



VALUE OF THE KITCHEN GARDEN 



growth — are better handled with the hand culti- 
vator or even with a hoe. ^ 

Again, it pays from a physical standpoint of 
view. Did we cultivate more assiduously our back- 
yard gardens, those of us whose daily grind chains 
us fast to a bell or whistle or even an office clock, 
there would be fewer nervous breakdowns. It is 
curious how our cares drop away from our poor 
fagged minds when we get out in touch with the 
good brown earth. It must be a deep-seated trou- 
ble, indeed, which will not lift ever so little when 
the robin's song is in the air and the sweet, moist 
smell of the soil comes up after a rain. To possess 
the land and till it is the primal heritage of man. 
To delight in the work of his hands, the reward 
which beckons him. 



[11] 



CHAPTER TWO 
THE LOCATION OF THE GARDEN 



1 HIS is a point which admits of httle discussion or 
advice, as, in the majority of cases, circmnstances 
decide this arbitrarily. Especially is this the case 
where the only land at command is comprised in 
the narrow confines of a city back yard or the 
somewhat more generous area of a suburban lot. 

But in the country, where land is abundant, 
the only restrictive condition is that it should be 
near the house, so that it may be easily worked 
and cared for, especially if much of this care must 
devolve upon the women of the family, as is often 
the case on the farm. Given here a measure of 
choice of location, it will be well to select a bit of 
land well drained and exposed to the sunshine the 
greater part of the day. The near presence of trees 
is to be avoided, as these not only furnish more 
shade than is desirable, but the roots — which ex- 
tend in all directions over an area equal to the spread 

[12] 



THE LOCATION OF THE GARDEN 



of tops — drain all the moisture and much of the 
nourishment from the soil, much to the detriment 
of any crop which may be planted in their imme- 
diate vicinity. 

Low, wet land should be avoided unless it can 
be thoroughly drained, in which case it often makes 
excellent garden land. I have such a spot on my 
own land which for a number of years was too 
wet to work to advantage in any but very dry 
seasons, and in the spring thaws and after every 
hard summer rain was under water for a foot or 
more. Finally after losing a dozen fine Brahma 
fowls (which had been shut up in a temporary 
coop to break them of setting) by a sudden sum- 
mer rain, which flooded all of that part of the 
premises, it was drained by the very simple and 
inexpensive expedient of digging a deep hole, six 
feet deep and five feet in diameter, and filling this 
up with all sorts of rubbish from about the place — 
old tins, broken crockery, and the like. This proved 
perfectly successful and no trouble has been ex- 
perienced since, the ground being in shape to work 
but a few days later than the rest of the garden 
and not delaying cultivation to any extent at any 
time during the remainder of the summer. It has 

[13] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



been found an excellent place for the growing of 
cabbage and cauliflowers, which have now been 
grown there several years in succession without 
any sign of club-foot or much of any damage from 
the cabbage worm. 

Of course this bit of land is underlaid with 
gravel. With a clay subsoil it might be necessary 
to employ more scientific drainage, and the laying 
of porous tile be found necessary. 

Clay land does not make an ideal garden soil. 
A good warm loam, well overlaid with humus — 
decayed vegetable matter — is the best soil in which 
to grow garden stuff, but a stiff clay soil may be 
made to produce good results by heavy manuring 
and underdraining, but will not warrant the ex- 
pense if other and better soil is available. The 
point to be considered in selecting garden soil is 
to choose that which will grow the greatest variety 
of vegetables with the least expenditure of labor 
and fertilisers. There are very few vegetables but 
what may be grown to a point of perfection satis- 
factory for the home garden, though they might 
not produce in quantities to make them remunera- 
tive for a market garden where much more is ex- 
pected of the soil than in private places. Certain 

[14] 



THE LOCATION OF THE GARDEN 



soils, like well-drained marsh lands, are ideal for 
certain vegetables, such as celery, cabbage, and 
the like, but less valuable for general use. 

On the small village lot one must, perforce, take 
what one has, and it is doubtful if there is any bit 
of land but what may be made, under careful 
management, to produce a fair amount of vege- 
tation. The fertility of a small area of land is so 
easily increased that no plot of land need be con- 
sidered hopeless on that score. The mechanical con- 
dition is more apt to cause trouble. When a piece 
of land has been used for a dumping heap for 
years, probably beginning with the erection of the 
house, when all the excavated subsoil was dumped 
upon the ground and levelled off instead of being 
carted away, as it should have been, and succeed- 
ing years have left their accumulation of ashes, 
rubbish, and old cans to further injure the soil, 
there does not seem to be much to do, especially 
if the first deposit consists, as it probably does, of 
gravel and hardpan, but to first remove all rubbish 
and then to dig up the surface dirt down to the 
original soil and have the refuse carted away. As 
there is always a demand for dirt for grading in 

a place of any size, the expense of digging up the 

[15] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



dirt will usually be all that is entailed, as some one 
can always be found to haul it away for it. 

There is one condition to be considered, how- 
ever, in this method of restoring the soil, and that 
is the grade. If this is high enough to allow of the 
removal of any considerable amount of earth, well 
and good, but if not, fresh earth must be brought 
in to take its place. However, the ploughing and 
fertilising of the soil will raise the grade consider- 
ably, and land that at first may appear too low 
will, in the course of two or three years' cultiva- 
tion, have quite recovered its usual grade. 

The proneness of land to rise has been well dem- 
onstrated on my own place, where the house stands 
on a knoll, the ground sloping away in all direc- 
tions, and should, for this reason, afford a per- 
fectly dry house and cellar. The contrary, how- 
ever, is true, owing to the fact that several years 
ago the sod was broken around the foundations 
of the house for the planting of vines and shrub- 
bery. As the soil about foundations is never very 
suitable for the growing of plants, fresh earth was 
added from the compost heap and garden, much 
of the poor soil being first removed. Subsequent 
top dressings of soil and fertilisers has resulted in 

[16] 



THE LOCATION OF THE GARDEN 



SO marked a rise in the grade of the ground as to 
permit the water to run in at the cellar windows 
during spring thaws and summer storms; as a 
result, we find it will be necessary to cut the sod 
in narrow strips and roll it back for a distance of 
twenty feet or more; lay aside the surface soil, 
and remove about six inches of the subsoil and re- 
place the surface soil and the sod and roll it thor- 
oughly with the lawn roller. This is the one seri- 
ous objection to " base plantings " about the house 
or outbuildings — its tendency to raise the grade of 
the land. 

It has been said that the near presence of trees 
is to be avoided in the garden, but the comfort and 
convenience of working it will be greatly enhanced 
by the presence of a shed or other building on the 
north side, where one can store the necessary tools, 
do much of the indoor work connected with gar- 
dening, cleaning vegetables, and the like, or take 
shelter in a sudden shower. Such a building will 
afford a suitable location for the construction of 
hotbeds and coldframes, as well as affording tem- 
porary quarters for vegetables, which may need to 
be gathered in advance of a sudden cold snap. It 
will also be found invaluable for drying and ripen- 

[17] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



ing off such vegetables as are to be stored in the 
cellar for winter use. A scaffolding of lath, erected 
just out of the way of one's head, will be found 
invaluable for drying onions, and will double the 
capacity of the shed. 

Another feature of moment in the selection of 
a garden site is the nearness and availability of the 
water supply. Where one has city water the prob- 
lem is simple — the water maj'^ be carried to the 
garden; but where this does not exist the garden 
must be carried to the well or a home system of 
water established. This may be accomplished sat- 
isfactorily by the erection of a wind-mill operated 
through a three-way pump, which will convey 
water to any point in the ground. Even the mill 
may be dispensed with and water carried to a 
stand pipe supplied with a hose and nozzle, whence 
it may be distributed about the garden as needed. 
It is necessarj^ however, in installing a force pump 
of any make to know just what you are getting, 
and not find one's self encumbered with a pump 
which it is a punishment to work or one with in- 
sufficient force to throw a reasonable stream of 
water. 

The presence of a shed and a water supjDly ad- 
[18] 



THE LOCATION OF THE GARDEN 



jacent will be found of the greatest convenience 
to the housewife, who can there prepare the vege- 
tables for the table, doing away with much dirt 
about the kitchen and the subsequent disposal of 
the tops, husks, and other refuse. 

There is one more point to notice in connection 
with the kitchen garden, and that is that it should 
be as widely separated from the hennery as pos- 
sible. The presence of a high fence of chicken net- 
ting as a dividing line is not sufficient, though it 
is a distinct gain on chickens running at large. 
But for perfect immunity from the encroachments 
of Mistress Biddy it is best to begin with the 
youngsters and, by keeping temptation out of 
their way, nip in the bud any embryo inclination 
to revel in one's softest garden beds. Where the 
hen park adjoins the garden the little chicks, which 
can easily pass through the meshes of the netting, 
form the habit of working there, and the first move 
they make in the morning will be through the 
fence into the garden. I do not think that at this 
stage they do any harm; sometimes I have thought 
their presence a benefit, so many are the bugs 
and worms they destroy, and they aid materially 

in the cultivation of the larger vegetables — cauli- 

[19] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



flowers, cabbage, tomatoes, and the like — but are 
destructive, indeed, to the tender leaves of the 
lettuce, and as the garden advances and tomatoes 
and melons ripen, they can be trusted to peck 
everything as it ripens. Moreover, having formed 
the garden habit it is nearly impossible to break 
them of it, and fences that were considered chicken- 
tight apparently form no barrier to them. I have 
repeatedly seen Plymouth Rocks and American 
Reds climb up a wire netting by hooking their 
claws into the meshes, balance a moment on the 
top wire, and fly triumphantly down into the for- 
bidden land. Chickens which have never been al- 
lowed in the garden seldom make serious trouble 
in confinement. 

The past summer I have been greatly puzzled 
to learn how certain half -grown American Reds 
gained access to the garden, past a six-foot board 
fence and a five-foot wire netting, but the mystery 
was solved when I found that they were climbing 
from branch to branch of a mulberry tree on the 
park side of the fence, until they had reached a 
sufficiently high altitude, when they flew down on, 
or over, the fence. 

A flock of BuflP Rocks, which came of stock 
[20] 



THE LOCATION OF THE GARDEN 



which had always been confined, have evinced not 
the shghtest inchnation to stray, but stay content- 
edly in their park, coming up en masse each night 
to be fed. Yet I feel not a shadow of a doubt that 
had their parents been brought up on my own 
premises their offspring would have proven as 
predatory as the descendants of my own hens. 

This may seem a far call from the subject, but 
it is a point which is likely to be called to the atten- 
tion of the gardener in a very forcible manner any 
fine summer day, when he finds, as I did the past 
summer, his bed of prize lettuce, or other product 
of his tender care, practically exterminated by a 
few moments' visit of a flock of chickens. How- 
ever, I can assure him he will not feel half as bad 
about it as he would had they been his neighbours' 
chickens. 



[21] 



CHAPTER THREE 
PLANNING THE GARDEN 



1 HE work of planning the garden — inasmuch 
as it consists in deciding what and how much we 
shall plant and where we shall plant it — may very 
well be done long in advance of the season of active 
operations. Indeed, it is a distinct and pleasurable 
advantage to make the long winter evenings sup- 
plement the long summer days by devoting a 
portion of them to the seed catalogues and other 
garden literature. 

The selection of varieties of vegetables to grow 
should be largely influenced by those which form 
one's daily fare throughout the season. Vegetables 
which are seldom purchased — unless it be because 
of their high price or scarcity — may not profitably 
be cultivated in the home garden. But in the case 
of high-priced products, then the home garden 
demonstrates its economic value as enabling one to 
indulge in otherwise unattainable luxuries. Plainly, 

[22] 



PLANNING THE GARDEN 



then, one should grow in abundance those things 
of which most consumption is made. There will be 
a demand for those vegetables which come earliest 
in spring — rhubarb, asparagus, radishes, lettuce, 
and such quick-growing things; and for vege- 
tables which may be stored in the cellar to increase 
the none-too-generous variety of the winter larder 
— potatoes, parsnips, carrots, squash, and the like. 
Sweet corn, beans, peas, and beets, especially those 
for early greens, cabbage, cauliflower, and toma- 
toes, will be indispensable summer products which 
must be provided for. 

A little study of the catalogues or of the instruc- 
tions under the heading of various vegetables will 
show the height of these, the period at which they 
are in season, and the distance apart they should 
be planted, and this data will furnish the necessary 
information as to quantity of seed or number of 
plants required for a given area. 

If the land devoted to the kitchen garden is 
comprised in the boundaries of a city lot the ar- 
rangement will, necessarily, be somewhat different 
than that which would prevail in the country, 
where the garden occupies more ground and is 
more or less retired from observation. On the city 

[23] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



lot it is always, to the family, at least, in evidence, 
and should be made as attractive as possible. This 
may best be achieved by planting the more orna- 
mental vegetables in front and relegating the tall- 
est and the least ornamental to the rear. 

On the limited area of a village lot it will not 
be expedient to grow vegetables which require so 
large an amount of room as pumpkins, squash, and 
melons, but room should be found for a hill or 
two of cucumbers in order that one may possess 
these appetising fruits at their best. I have grown 
very good cucumbers — and melons, too, by the 
way — on the hen-park fence, thus not only pro- 
ducing a crop from a strip of land not readily 
available for other purposes but affording some 
useful shade for the poultry yard. A post or two 
set anywhere convenient, with a length of netting 
stretched from post to post, may take the place of 
the fence, or they may be grown against the side 
of a building. 

The growing of this class of vegetables on net- 
ting is perfectly rational; Nature has provided the 
vines with clinging tendrils and evidently intended 
them to be used. The stems of all of this class of 

plants are quite strong enough to support the fruit 

[24] 



PLANNING THE GARDEN 



until it is perfectly ripe, when it drops of its own 
accord, and thus furnishes a sure guide for its 
harvest. Moreover, melons and cucumbers grown 
on netting are far more attractive in appearance 
than when grown on the ground, as they are not 
soiled, stained, discoloured, or rotted by contact 
with the earth. The difference in appearance be- 
tween pickles grown on netting and those grown 
on the ground is marked indeed, the former being 
beautifully green and bright, and if they were 
grown in sufficient quantities to be marketed, there 
would nothing sell against them. I do not think 
they bear quite as freely as when grown on 
the ground, but then I have never given them the 
extra culture that would produce the highest re- 
sults. If well cultivated throughout the season, and 
watered and supplied with weekly doses of liquid 
manure, the returns would doubtless be highly sat- 
isfactory, and this extra labour would be far less 
than that involved in gathering the fruit from the 
ground. 

The back-yard fence of an ordinary lot will fur- 
nish sufficient room for the growing of all the 
vegetables of this sort needed by a small family, 

and a strip about three feet wide should be spaded 

[25] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



along the fence and thoroughly manured; after- 
wards it will be well to mix a large spadeful of 
manure and a spoonful of phosphate in each hill 
prepared for cucumbers, melons, or squash. Be- 
tween these hills, which will be from four to six 
feet apart, beets for early greens, radishes, lettuce, 
string beans, early peas, onions for use green, corn 
salad, mustard, endive, spinach, parsley, and any 
herbs may be planted, as most of these things are 
of quick growth and are usually planted for a suc- 
cession throughout the summer at intervals of a 
few weeks, and where the space does not admit of 
but two or three varieties, those which mature 
early should be planted first, and when they have 
been used the ground may be cleared and a fall 
crop started. 

By planning to use such available space for 
these early things, they are gotten out of the way 
of the main crop and the garden proper left for 
things which require the entire season to mature. 

A good broad path will be advisable down 
through the centre of the garden for convenience 
in working, and a narrower one along the sides, if 
this part is to be planted as suggested. It \^^ll be 
more convenient in cultivating if the lines of vege- 

[26] 



PLANNING THE GARDEN 



tables run straight across the garden. This is espe- 
cially to be advised if an attempt to use a horse in 
caring for it is to be made, and even where the 
work is to be done with a hand cultivator this will 
be the most economical arrangement of space and 
labour. 

If the land runs east and west the taller plantings 
should be on the north, so that the light will not be 
shut off from the lower growing vegetables. Corn 
grows so much taller than anything else cultivated 
that it should, if possible, be placed in the rear. 
In front of it the few hills of early potatoes which 
it is possible to grow on a city lot may be planted, 
as they are the least ornamental of vegetables. 

Cabbage and cauliflowers grow of correspond- 
ing height, and may be planted side by side and 
given the same treatment. Tomatoes may follow 
the potatoes, and so on in the order of height until 
the front of the garden is reached, and such orna- 
mental vegetables as remain may be placed. 

The accompanying diagram will be of assistance, 
and is quite possible for an ordinary lot of twelve 
rods by four, allowing eight rods of the rear of the 
lot for the growing of vegetables. 

It is not intended, however, that any one should 
[27] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



follow this chart arbitrarily; it is merely suggest- 
ive, and many of the vegetables indicated may be 
discarded and more of others planted to take their 
place, or a rod or two at the rear may be devoted 
to the growing of small fruit — red and blackcap 
raspberries, or currants, gooseberries, or even a 
small strawberry bed. 



[28] 



Corn, i8 hills 




,, 


I pint seed 


Potatoes, 28 hills 


I peck seed 


Cabbage, 18 plants 


,i 


I , 


Tomatoes, 18 plants 


,, 


., 


Peppers, 18 plants 


<< 


Egg Plants, 18 plants 


.1 


Carrots 


Carrots, i oz. seed 


Salsify, i oz. seed 




Parsnips, i oz. seed 





Parsley 



Corn, 18 hills 


,i 


I pint 


seed 


Potatoes, 


28 hills 


I peck 


seed 


Cauliflower 


, 18 plants 


, . 


,,- 


Tomatoes, 


18 plants 


,. 


,, 


Peppers, I 


8 plants 


,, 


Egg Plants 


, 18 plants 




Carrots 


Carrots, i 


oz. seed 


Salsify. I 


oz. seed 




Parsnips, 


oz. seed 





Parsley 



L— Lettuce R— Radishes 
B— Beets S— Salsify 



This leaves room for several 
rows of fruit and a generous 
asparagus bed in the rear. 



*l 



CHAPTER FOUR 
HOW TO MAINTAIN FERTILITY 



1 HE soil is a working laboratory in which 
chemical reactions are constantly going on, mak- 
ing the various elements available as plant food. 
In order that a piece of land shall produce a profit- 
able crop, as much depends upon the mechanical 
condition of the soil as upon the various chemical 
elements that it contains which go to make up the 
structure of the plants grown upon it. Soil is made 
up of disintegrated rock and decayed vegetable 
matter, but if it were rock alone it could not sup- 
port plant life, at least the highly organised plant 
life upon which we depend for food. In order to 
support plant life it must have humus, decayed 
vegetable, and animal matter. Virgin soil contains 
enough humus to make possible all the necessary 
chemical changes to produce sufficient plant food, 
but unless the soil is carefully cultivated and atten- 
tion paid to the replenishing of it the supply of 

[29] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



humus is in great danger of becoming exhausted, 
and the soil is then said to be " worn out." 

Humus is the black or brown material which 
gives the dark colour to the top ten or twelve 
inches of soil. Added to the soil, humus increases its 
water-holding capacity, thereby insuring a more 
constant soil moisture. It aids in the decomposi- 
tion of the mineral matter by harbouring bacteria 
which convert unavailable forms into a condition 
in which it can be assimilated by plants. It fixes 
the ammonia, which contains nitrogen, in the soil, 
so that it is not leached out by rains, and it im- 
proves the mechanical condition of the soil by keep- 
ing it loose and free, permitting aeration. 

The natural supply of humus comes from the 

decaying leaves and wood of the forest, but as soon 

as the forests are removed and the land cultivated 

this supply is cut off. It can be renewed, however, 

by giving the land periodical dressings of stable 

manure, green manure, or peat or swamp-muck. 

These last two are not always available, and when 

they are, it is doubtful if they can be economically 

applied to land on account of the cost of hauling 

and spreading. 

Stable manure is undoubtedly the best form in 
[30] 



HOW TO MAINTAIN FERTILITY 



which to supply humus, because the soil is receiv- 
ing at the same time nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and 
potash, the three most important elements in plant 
foods. It is vegetable matter that has been partly 
digested by animals and is in a condition to be 
more quickly assimilated by plants than is a green 
manure. 

Green manure is supplied by growing a crop of 
clover, or other leguminous plants, or rye, and 
turning it under. I have seen comparatively un- 
productive sandy soils from which nitrogen was 
leached out by rains as fast as it could be supplied, 
brought into good tilth and produce large crops 
by its use. In the small garden, where one cannot 
afford to lose the time necessary to do this, as it 
is done in large farming operations, rye or clover 
can be sown in the fall as soon as the vegetable 
crops have been removed, or between the rows at 
the last cultivation of such crops as corn, and what- 
ever growth has been turned under at the time of 
spring ploughing. I have seen this done with good 
results on small areas. 

The clovers and other leguminous crops are the 

best green manures because of their ability to 

absorb and fix free atmospheric nitrogen. If you 

[31] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



were to dig up carefully a clover plant and wash 
away the soil you would find many little nodules 
on the roots. These little bunches contain bacteria, 
and it is these little bacteria which collect and con- 
vert the free atmospheric nitrogen into an avail- 
able form for plants to use. Long before the value 
of these little nodules was recognised it was a known 
fact that good crops of beans could be produced 
on land that could not grow a profitable crop of 
anything else. These bacteria made it possible. In 
the North the common red clover and rye are the 
best crops to grow for green manure. The rye is 
not a legume and cannot fix atmospheric nitrogen, 
but it makes a heavy growth of foliage, producing 
when turned under a good amount of humus. 
From New Jersey south to Georgia the crimson 
clover will make a good stand and survive the 
winter. It can be sown any time from July to 
September; the earlier date is for the northern 
portion of this territory. The vetches and cow peas 
have also proven to be valuable green manures. 

With the exception of corn and potatoes, crops 
do not usually do well on land which has just had 
a green crop turned under, because of the acidity 

produced by the fermentation. Let the land lay 

[32] 




LIQUID MANURE IS ONE OF THE BEST ACTING FERTILISERS 



1 



HOW TO MAINTAIN FERTILITY 



for about six weeks before planting and frequently 
harrow it to compact the soil. 

There are fourteen different chemical elements 
that are necessary for plant growth — namely, car- 
bon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, 
sulphur, chlorine, silicon, calcium, iron, potassium, 
sodium, magnesium, and manganese. The first 
four are derived either directly or indirectly from 
the air, the remaining ten are derived from the 
soil. Virgin soil contains all these soil-derived ele- 
ments in available forms and in sufficient quanti- 
ties for plant growth, and it has the ability to 
absorb the air-derived elements, but our methods 
of agriculture rob the soil of some of its elements 
faster than it can convert them into available form 
for the plants. Therefore we must supply these 
elements in order to produce good crops. 

The best way of renewing these necessary ele- 
ments is by dressings of stable manure — the drop- 
pings from horses, cows, and other domestic ani- 
mals. Soil enriched by barn-yard manure will yield 
better crops than soil which has been given chem- 
ical fertilisers containing an equal amount of plant 
food. Whether the manure shall be fresh or well 

rotted depends upon the conditions. The fertil- 

[33] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



ising constituents of well-decayed manure are more 
quickly available to the plants than are those in 
fresh manure, but, on the other hand, fresh manure 
soon rots and the fermentation of decay assists 
in rendering soluble hitherto insoluble fertilising 
constituents of the soil. If the chief object of ap- 
plying the manure is to improve the mechanical 
condition of the soil, the greatest benefit will be 
had by giving fresh manure to heavy clay loams 
and well-decayed manure to light, sandy loams. 
On the other hand, if quick action is wanted, 
greater benefit will be received under ordinary con- 
ditions from fresh manure on light soil than on 
heavy clay loam. On heavy soil decomposition 
takes place slowly, so it is some time before the 
plant food becomes available. Often there is no 
immediate effect the first year. In light soil, un- 
less the season is very dry, the fertilising constit- 
uents of fresh manure become available about as 
fast as the plant is in need of them. There is dan- 
ger of leaching away of the nitrogen before it can 
be used by the plants if well-decayed manure is 
applied to sandy loams. On clay loams there is 
no danger of this, because of their ability to absorb 

and retain large quantities of plant food. 

[34] 



HOW TO MAINTAIN FERTILITY 



The amount to apply varies with the crop 
grown, but for ordinary garden crops as much as 
twenty tons per acre, or about one two-horse load 
to a 25 X 100-foot plot, can be used; one-half to 
two-thirds of this amount will give fair results, 
however, and larger amounts are often used by 
" truck " growers. This must be thoroughly mixed 
with the soil by ploughing under and harrowing 
before the crop is planted. 

It is often the case that the soil does not need a 
complete fertiliser, for only one of the three im- 
portant plant foods — nitrogen, phosphoric acid and 
potash — is lacking. If such is the case, it can be 
easily supplied by one of the various chemical fer- 
tilisers on the market. 

Before applying these highly concentrated 
chemical fertilisers I would strongly advise your 
testing the soil to find out just what is needed. To 
do it divide the garden into strips, say ten feet 
wide, and on every other strip apply these special 
fertilisers, one to a strip, in various quantities and 
watch the results. One test will probably be suffi- 
cient to give the information desired. 

Nitrogen is the most expensive of the three es- 
sential elements required by plants. It can be had 

[35] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



in three different forms, organic nitrogen, as am- 
monia, and in nitrates. The most valuable sources 
of organic nitrogen are dried blood and tankage, 
which are by-products of slaughter houses, dried 
fish, and refuse from fish canneries and oil fac- 
tories, and cotton-seed meal. These contain in every 
one hundred pounds of bulk the following amount 
(approximately) of nitrogen: dried blood, ten to 
fifteen; tankage, seven to nine; dried fish, seven to 
eight ; cotton-seed meal, six to seven. All these sub- 
stances decay rapidly upon being put in the soil, 
but not so quickly but that they can be made use 
of by the plant as soon as they become available. 
They are particularly valuable on light soils, from 
which nitrogen in the form of ammonia or nitrates 
are rapidly leached, and they have the further ad- 
vantage of making available during the process 
of fermentation insoluble forms of phosphoric acid 
and potash. They also furnish small quantities of 
phosphoric acid. Cotton seed or cotton-seed meal 
is not used in the North to any extent as a fertihser, 
but in the South it is a cheap form of nitrogen. It 
can be applied alone or in combination with chem- 
ical fertilisers. It contains about seven per cent of 
nitrogen and three per cent of phosphoric acid 

[36] 



HOW TO MAINTAIN FERTILITY 



and two per cent of potash. About sixty bushels 
per acre of the green seed or its equivalent of 
meal, together with about one thousand pounds of 
a complete fertiliser, will be a good dressing for 
the garden. 

Nitrogen in the form of ammonia is derived 
almost exclusively from sulphate of ammonia, the 
commercial product containing about twenty per 
cent. This form of nitrogen is easily converted in 
the soil to nitrate, the form in which it is used by 
plants, but before being converted it will readily 
combine with the soil becoming fixed, so that there 
is no danger of its leaching. This quality makes 
it very valuable for light, sandy loams and for 
use in wet seasons, when nitrate of soda would 
leaeh from the soil rapidly. 

The commonest form of commercial nitrogen is 
nitrate of soda, which contains about 15.5 per 
cent of nitrogen. Nitrate of soda dissolves at 
once upon being put in the soil; it has a strong 
affinity for water. In this form the nitrogen is at 
once available to the plants. As it is so soluble, 
there is danger of it^ being leached from the soils, 
especially sandy soils, if more is given than the 
plants can use in a short time. 

[37] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



Phosphorus is used by plants in the form of 
phosphoric acid, and there are several forms in 
which it can be had. The organic forms of nitrogen, 
which I have mentioned, contain a little phosphoric 
acid. The most common and most highly con- 
centrated form of phosphoric acid on the market 
now is superphosi^hates, or soluble phosphates. 
These are derived from the phosphate rock se- 
cured in South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee. 
They are seldom used in their natural state, be- 
cause but little of the phosphoric acid in them is 
available as plant food. It is made available by 
grinding and treating with sulj)huric acid. These 
treated phosphate rocks contain twenty-five to 
thirty per cent of available phosphoric acid. 

Thomas slag, a by-product in the manufacture 
of steel, has been used frequently as a source of 
phosphoric acid, but as the supply is limited it 
cannot always be obtained. It contains about 
nineteen or twenty per cent of available phos- 
phoric acid and six or seven per cent which is in- 
soluble in soil water. 

Bone contains a great deal of phosphoric acid — 
about twenty-two per cent — and it also contains 
about four per cent of nitrogen. Bone can be se- 

[38] 



HOW TO MAINTAIN FERTILITY 



cured in several different forms, such' as raw, 
boiled or steamed, and fine bone. Upon its con- 
dition when applied to the land will depend the 
rapidity with which it will become available to the 
plants. All the phosphoric acid in raw, broken 
bone will not become available and used up by 
the plants in less than four years, because the fat 
retards decay. For this reason the bone is steamed 
and ground, and in this condition all the phos- 
phoric acid will have become available in about 
two years. In steamed bone there is less nitrogen, 
however, because some of the organic material con- 
taining it is removed by the process. 

Other forms of bone which are sometimes used 
as fertilisers are bone-black and bone-ash. They are 
much less valuable, because in their preparation by 
burning all the organic matter is driven off, there- 
fore they contain no nitrogen, and it lessens the 
amount of phosphoric acid somewhat. 

Tankage is the only other material containing 
phosphoric acid which is sufficiently common in 
the trade to warrant consideration. The fertilising 
content of tankage varies according to what it 
is made from; the higher its percentage of phos- 
phoric acid the less nitrogen it contains and vice 

[39] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



versa. At present there are five different grades 
on the market containing anywhere from seven 
to nineteen or twenty per cent of phosphoric acid. 
Its price also varies according to its contents. 

When soluble phosphoric acid is added to the 
soil it becomes " fixed " or insoluble by combining 
with lime, making lime phosphate, or by uniting 
with iron or alumina. The former is the most desir- 
able form, as the phosphoric acid in lime phos- 
phate is more readily reconverted into available 
forms for plant use by the fermentation of organic 
material in the soil than are the phosphates of iron 
and alumina. Therefore, to insure the formation of 
lime phosphate, it is necessary that the soil should 
be well supplied with lime and humus. 

The other element, potash, which it is necessary 
to add to the soil is derived mainly from muriate 
or chloride of potash, sulphate of potash, and 
unleached hardwood ashes. Most of the potash, 
other than the ashes, comes from mines in Ger- 
many. Sulphate of potash is a much better form 
to use because the chlorides in muriate of potash 
seem to have an unfavourable effect on crops. 
This is particularly true of tobacco and potatoes. 

Kainit is frequently offered and sold by dealers. 

[40] 



HOW TO MAINTAIN FERTILITY 



Its potash is in the form of sulphates, but as it 
contains large quantities of chlorides mixed with 
it, it has the same general effect on plants as muri- 
ate of potash. 

High-grade sulphate of potash contains forty- 
eight to fifty-one per cent of potash, low grade 
twenty-eight to thirty per cent, kainit twelve to 
fourteen per cent, muriate of potash (eighty to 
eighty-five per cent pure), fifty to fifty-three per 
cent, and unleached wood ashes four to eight per 
cent. Never use leached-wood ashes as a direct 
fertiliser, as they usually contain but a small per- 
centage of potash. 

When muriate of potash is used the chlorides 
combine with the lime, forming chloride of lime, 
which is very soluble and leaches away rapidly, a 
distinct disadvantage, and it makes applications of 
lime necessary. Further, the presence of large 
quantities of chloride of lime in soil is apt to be 
detrimental to plants. 

Greater effect is had from the use of these pot- 
ash fertilisers on light, sandy soils, humus soils, or 
those containing lime, than on heavy clay loams. 
On the light soils, to get the full value of the 

potash applied, there should be in it considerable 

[41] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 

lime. Without the lime the soluble potash leaches 
out rapidly. 

I have described these different fertilising ele- 
ments at some length in order that if the reader 
desires to mix his ovm fertilisers he will know what 
each contains. Unless one uses only a small quan- 
tity of these commercial fertilisers it is a distinct 
advantage in point of cost to do the mixing at 
home rather than to buy the ready-mixed materials. 
Not only is it necessary to pay the manufacturer 
for mixing them, but you also pay freight on 
earth, which is always added to these ready-made 
fertilisers as fillers. Another distinct advantage of 
home-mixed fertilisers is that the ingredients can 
be varied according to the needs of plants grown 
and the condition of the soil. 

For an average soil, on which the ordinary gar- 
den crops — beets, cabbage, cucumbers, celery, to- 
matoes, etc. — are being grown, a fertiliser com- 
pounded as follows will give good results: 

Nitrate of soda 50 pounds 

Sulphate of ammonia 100 pounds 

Dried blood 150 pounds 

Acid phosphate 550 pounds 

Muriate of potash 150 pounds 

[42] 



HOW TO MAINTAIN FERTILITY 

An equal amount of sulphate of potash can be 
supplemented for the muriate of potash if that 
form is best for the crop. 

This is enough for the spring application to 
one acre, but it should be supplemented by two 
or three dressings of nitrate of soda at intervals 
during the season, giving about one hundred to 
two hundred pounds each time. 

The formula just given reduced to amounts for 
a small area, say a 25 X 100-foot plot, would be 

Nitrate of soda 2% pounds 

Sulphate of ammonia 5 pounds 

Dried blood 7V2 pounds 

Acid phosphate 27% pounds 

Muriate of potash 7% pounds 

and the subsequent dressings of nitrate of soda 
would be five to ten pounds each. 

The ingredients of this formula may be changed ; 
for instance, if bone meal is more accessible, an 
equal amount can be substituted for the acid phos- 
phate, but the phosphoric acid will not be so quick- 
ly available. 

When mixing fertilisers great care must be 

taken to evenly distribute all the ingredients 

[43] 



THE VEGETABLE GERDEN 



through the mixture. This is best done by putting 
them in a pile in layers and then throwing them 
into another pile. Always shovel from the bot- 
tom of the pile, throwing the material on the top 
of the second pile. Three or four turnings will be 
necessary to thoroughly incorporate all the in- 
gredients. 

All these substances which I have mentioned are 
direct fertilisers, but there are soils from which 
the full value of these cannot be had without the 
use of a stimulant or indirect fertiliser. Lime and 
land plaster or gypsum are used for this purpose. 

The reasons for the liming land are: First, 
that sour or acid soils must be neutralised or made 
slightly alkaline, because the bacteria which con- 
vert the organic forms of nitrogen into the forms 
of nitrates cannot thrive in acid soils. Second, used 
in small quantities, it will bind loose, sandy soils. 
Third, it will flocculate stiff clayey soils, making 
the passage of water through them easier, lessen- 
ing the tendency to wash, and permitting better 
aeration. Fourth, in holding the potash compounds, 
as already described, and overcoming the bad effect 
of potash salts containing chlorides. 

There are other lesser reasons which it is not 
[44] 



HOW TO MAINTAIN FERTILITY 



necessary to discuss here. Gypsum is just as good 
as lime for all these reasons excepting the correc- 
tion of soil acidity. 

To determine if the soil is sour, one of two 
methods can be used. 

Take a fair sample of the soil and mix enough 
water with it to make the mass the consistency of 
thin mortar, then embed in it a strip of blue litmus 
paper. Allow it to stand half an hour or more, and 
then, if the paper has turned pink, you will know 
that the soil is in need of lime. 

Another way is to place a tablespoonful of soil 
in a glassful of water and a teaspoonful of weak 
ammonia. If, after standing several hours, the 
liquid becomes dark-brown or black, it is an indi- 
cation of soil acidity. 

The amount of lime necessary will vary accord- 
ing to the soil. Light, sandy loams will not need 
more than 500 pounds per acre, twenty-five pounds 
for a plot 25 X 100 feet, but when applied to 
heavy clay loams, as much as 5,000 or 6,000 
pounds can be used, 250 to 300 pounds on a 
25 X 100-foot plot. These applications of lime do 
not need to be made oftener than once in five to 

seven years. 

[45] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



For heavy, mucky soils, like freshly drained 
marshes, fresh-burnt lime may be used to good ad- 
vantage, but in most cases slacked lime, which has 
been exposed to the weather for some time, is 
better. A common way in some parts of the coun- 
try is to bury the lime in soil in the fall and dis- 
tribute it the following spring. The lime must 
be evenly distributed and then harrowed in. This 
should take place several weeks before planting 
the crop, for if done immediately before seeding, 
the seeds are very apt to be injured. 

Wood ashes contain about thirty-four per cent 
of lime. These can be used to good effect on sandy 
or acid soils. 



[46] 



CHAPTER FIVE 

THE CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF HOT 
BEDS, COLDFRAMES, AND PITS 



1 o attempt to garden without the aid of a well- 
equipped and constructed hotbed is to put one at 
a disadvantage in the beginning of the season — a 
disadvantage which strenuous effort and the most 
favourable of seasons will rarely compensate one 
for, as a well-stocked and successful hotbed will 
supply the garden with an immense amount of 
plants of the most desirable varieties at the mini- 
mum of cost and at just the season that they will 
be needed. 

The possession of a hotbed greatly advances the 
garden season, as the seed may be planted and the 
plants brought to a suitable size for planting out 
by the time that, lacking this convenience, the seed 
would be going into the open ground. This ad- 
vances the season some six weeks, and makes an 
appreciable difference in the maturing of plants 
and vegetables. 

[47] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



There has long been a feeling among the uniniti- 
ated that hotbeds, coldframes, and the like are con- 
veniences reserved for the professional florist, the 
fortunate few who possess a gardener, or are other- 
wise favoured by fortune. Nothing could be more 
mistaken than this idea. The construction and care 
of the hotbed is so simple and, in its simpler forms, 
so inexpensive as to be within the reach of the gar- 
dener whose little plot of land comprises but a few 
square yards of ground, while at the same time its 
capacity may be extended to meet the requirements 
of the most extensive estate or commercial plant. 

Primarily, it consists of a receptacle where bot- 
tom heat can be supplied and plants grown at a 
time when the weather is too cold for the carrying 
on of gardening operations in the open ground; 
where protection may be supplied against the ele- 
ments and the conditions governing plant growth 
held in control. 

The manner in which this is done will depend 
largely upon the length of the purse, the results 
will be the same whether it be a small hotbed or a 
large one. 

There is so much questionable information float- 
ing around in the magazines and papers anent the 

[48] 




J 


03 


9 


b* 


tail 


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w 








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E-> 


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. 7 


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z 



1 



CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF HOTBEDS 



proper time for starting the hotbed that a Httle 
discussion on this point may not be amiss at this 
time. I noticed an article recently in which it was 
stated that the middle of February was the proper 
time in which to start the hotbed. I have no doubt 
that there are certain sections of the country in 
which the hotbed may, with advantage, be started 
as early as February, but they will not be found 
in the vicinity of New York, Chicago, Detroit, or 
anywhere much north of Philadelphia. There is no 
amount of heating material which may be put into 
a hotbed pit, or any devised covering which will 
keep the frost out of a hotbed when the tempera- 
ture is loafing around in the vicinity of zero for 
a stretch of several days at a time, as it is prone to 
do in February at the North. Nor would there be 
any practical reason for this early starting of the 
beds were it possible for them to be kept free from 
frost and the plants in a growing condition, which 
the necessity of covering with rags and things 
which shut out air and light for days at a time, 
would render impossible. 

The prime object in the use of a hotbed is to 
have plants ready for setting out in the open 
ground as soon as the weather is favourable; this 

[49] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



will not be, in the case of most plants, until all 
danger of frost is passed. This period varies ac- 
cording to location; in the vicinity of Detroit and 
Chicago it may be generally calculated as from 
April 1st to about May 20th, and throughout the 
country at large it may be generally accepted as 
the average " corn-planting time." Such seeds as 
radishes, beets, onions for transplanting, celery, 
etc., should be planted as soon as April 1st, and 
plants of cabbage, lettuce, etc., should be ready 
to go into the open ground by April 20th. It will 
then be seen that it is necessary to start the hot- 
beds early enough to get the plants sufficiently 
advanced to plant out when the right season has 
come. 

Seeds of some plants require much less time to 
germinate than do others, and such seeds may be 
planted nearer corn-planting time than the others. 
Generally speaking, about six weeks, or at the 
most two months, should be allowed for the de- 
velopment of the plant; so if we accept May 20th 
as a safe time for this operation, it will be seen that 
the first of March, and not much earlier, is a good 
and practical time for getting the hotbed in com- 
mission. And very satisfactory results may be se- 

[50] 



CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF HOTBEDS 



cured by starting as late as the first or even the 
middle of April, as at that time the weather is mild 
enough for the sash to be raised a considerable part 
of the day, giving the plants abundance of fresh 
air, which makes for robust plants. 

Plants which are left in the hotbeds even a few 
days longer than necessary are apt to be injured. 
For one thing, they become crowded and spindly 
and their roots penetrate below the soil into the 
crude, heated manure and are injured; they be- 
come matted and must be separated, and more or 
less injury results in the process, all of which 
would be avoided if the plants could go into the 
ground as soon as they are ready. 

Next in importance in the starting of the hot- 
bed is the location; this will depend largely upon 
the arrangement of the grounds and buildings, 
and I can only point out the most desirable condi- 
tions. 

The location should be the warmest at com- 
mand and one which will receive the greatest 
amount of sunshine. It should be on the south side 
of a building or high-board fence, and should have 
some protection from rough west winds if possi- 
ble. It should be easily accessible from the house, 

[51] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



as the beds will require frequent and often sudden 
attention. 

The lay of the land should afford good drain- 
age, so that the water will not settle back against 
the beds; this is of special importance where the 
beds are to be used as coldframes for the carrying 
of plants through the winter. 

Where the drainage is at all faulty it will be 
well to construct a drain in one corner of the beds 
by digging a hole and setting a porous tile therein, 
or filling with broken crocks, gravel, or other rough 
material. The opening should be flush with the 
surface of the soil, or slightly lower, and be cov- 
ered with sphagnum moss or a piece of sod, laid 
grass-side down, to jorevent the soil working in 
and filling the drain. This will carry off any sur- 
face water that might accidentally find its way into 
the beds. 

But where the hotbeds are to be used the year 
round and may be considered permanent construc- 
tions, it will be well to begin right by draining the 
land in the immediate vicinity, if low, or by haul- 
ing on sufficient earth to raise the grade above the 
danger line. Considerable more soil will be thrown 

out in the first excavation of the pits than will be 

[52] 



CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF HOTBEDS 

returned when the beds are made. All the subsoil 
removed may be used to raise the grade of the 
land if necessary, and where the same site is used 
for the beds from year to year, the handling of the 
soil as it is thrown in each year will aid in raising 
the soil in the vicinity of the beds, until in time a 
good natural drainage is established. 

The construction of the hotbed may be of any 
building material, ranging from the inexpensive 
frame contrived from the waste lumber about the 
place and old window sash to florist's sash and 
walls of concrete, brick, and cement blocks, the last 
three being permanent and highly satisfactory. 
These permanent frames are the cheapest in the 
end. 

For the temporary home or the small city lot, 
where it is desired to use the ground for other 
purposes, once the hotbed has served its purpose, 
the frame construction will be preferable; in the 
latter case it may consist merely of a frame set on 
the surface of the ground and removed when its 
usefulness is past; this forms the cheapest and 
also the least satisfactory of beds, for, while it an- 
swers the practical purposes of a hotbed, there is 
nothing below the surface of the ground to protect 

[53] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



the beds from the incursions of vermin of various 
kinds — as mice and moles, two mischievious ene- 
mies of the hotbed and coldf rame. 

The size of the beds will depend upon the size 
of the sash used. If the frame is to be of plank and 
the sash discarded window sash, which, by the way, 
is by no means to be despised, the beds will be of 
a size to correspond. It will always be found an 
advantage in constructing hotbeds, especially if the 
beds are set against a building and are only to be 
approached from one side, to have them of a size 
that may be easily reached across, as nothing is 
more tiresome and unsatisfactory than to try to 
care for a bed too wide to be easily reached in all 
of its parts. Three feet will be as wide as can be 
conveniently handled, but the length may be as 
long as desired. 

In excavating the pit for the frames it will be 
found a convenience, where there are several sash, 
for the pit to be in one long excavation, the neces- 
sary divisions being made by partitions in the 
frame itself, and which need not extend below the 
surface of the ground; these partitions, being re- 
movable, may be lifted in the spring, when the 

beds are to be made, leaving the full size of the 

[54] 




I 



CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF HOTBEDS 



pit to work in, and will be found to require far 
less labour than to attempt the excavation of a 
number of small pits in restricted quarters. 

The pit should be about four feet deep and of 
a size to readily receive the frame, and the sides 
of the pit should be as firm and even as may be 
practicable; the bottom, especially, should be level 
and hard, but no artificial bottom is required or 
should be made. In constructing the frame, four 
corner posts, of any rough stuff, two by four inches 
in diameter and long enough to reach from the 
top of the frame to the bottom of the pit, should 
be used, the posts for the back being six inches 
longer than those for the front. Upon these the 
planks, which should be of good size and of clear 
lumber that is free from knot-holes, or, if these 
cannot be avoided, they should be masked with 
pieces of tin nailed over them, so as to effectually 
shut out vermin of all kinds. The planks should 
extend below the surface of the ground two feet 
six inches according to the season, though, if pre- 
ferred, they may extend to the bottom of the pit; 
but this is not really necessary, as moles, and espe- 
cially mice, rarely enter beds at a lower depth. 

The proper slant may be given the top by saw- 
[55] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



ing a nine-inch board in two on the bias and using 
one section for an end, placing the boards with 
the sawn side down and naihng through the thin 
ends of the pieces into the boards below and also 
upon the corner posts. The frame should extend 
above the ground about a foot in the front and a 
foot and a half at the back. This gives the proper 
slant to shed rain, and also gathers the greatest 
possible amount of sunshine. 

The back of the frame should be the thickness 
of the sash higher than the sides and front, if the 
beds are set close to a building or wall, in order 
that the sash may fit back snugly against the back 
of the frame, where they may be attached by 
hinges and so raised without removing. A notched 
stick should be fastened at the front or sides of 
the frames to hold the sash at any desired height 
when airing them. Where two or more sash are 
used and it may be desired to divide the bed with 
partitions in order that plants requiring different 
conditions of temperature, air, or moisture may be 
successfully grown, narrow strips of wood may be 
nailed to the back and front of the partitions at 
the point where the sash meet, and about an inch 
and a quarter apart; into these inch boards may 

[56] 



CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF HOTBEDS 



be slipped, their tops level with the sash and their 
lower sides extending slightly below the level of 
the ground; the top board will, of course, need to 
be sawed on the same slant as the ends of the 
frame. These not only serve the purpose of sepa- 
rating the several portions of the bed, but also fur- 
nish a firm support for the sides of the sash and 
of closing any cracks that may exist in the joint- 
ure of the sash. 

All sash should be in a good water-tight condi- 
tion, and no cracked glass or defective putty should 
be tolerated. It will be well if the amateur gardener 
acquaint himself with the use of putty, and so pro- 
vide against the loss^ by sudden breakage of glass 
by hail, carelessness, or other causes, of a valuable 
lot of plants. There are few things more prone to 
disaster than hotbed sash, and it might be helpful 
to know in this connection that broken glass is 
easily and quickly removed by the application of 
hot iron to the putty. 

Where the ground is to be used for other pur- 
poses in the summer it will only be necessary to 
construct a frame about a foot high in front and 
eighteen inches at the back, with corner posts of 
equal height, as in this case the frame merely rests 

[57] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



upon the surface of the ground, or only six inches 
or a foot below it, the soil and manure being piled 
about the frame to exclude cold. Such frames are 
very handy to protect beds of tender roses and 
other plants during winter, as they may be readily 
moved about from place to jjlace, or if only wanted 
for spring use, they may be fastened together with 
pegs or hooks, and so taken apart and piled away 
like boards until wanted again another spring. 

In constructing permanent beds with brick walls, 
the pit should be dug four inches larger all around 
to allow for the laying of the brick. Four inches — 
the width of the brick — will be sufficient for these 
walls, except where frost works into it, and second- 
class brick may be used; it should be laid with 
cement and given a finishing coat of one to three 
cement all over. In laying brick or cement walls 
it will be well to mortise in a strip of wood on the 
top for the sash to rest upon, also the cleats of 
wood for the partitions to slide in, and a shoulder 
may be left in the cement for strips of wood to 
extend across the beds under the jointure of the 
sash, to rest in, where partitions are not to be run 
through the beds and but two sash are to be used. 

Where window sash is used, it may be hinged to 

[58] 



CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF HOTBEDS 



the strips of wood on top of the walls, as is done 
on wooden frames. 

Concrete makes a very substantial and com- 
paratively cheap wall. These should be somewhat 
thicker than the brick, and are laid up by the aid 
of a square wooden frame or form the size of the 
inside dimension of the pit, the excavation being 
about eight inches larger all around. In laying the 
wall, a rough concrete of sharp sand and gravel, 
in the proportion of one part of cement to six or 
seven parts of sand and gravel, is used. This is 
placed in the space between the frame and wall 
and tamped down firmly and until the moisture 
rises to the surface; all four walls may be laid at 
once to a height of one foot and then allowed to 
harden before adding the succeeding foot; always 
wet the last course of cement before adding fresh 
concrete. After the wall is built up to the desired 
height, a frame of narrow strips of wood should 
be fitted to the top, as in the case of the brick wall. 
Such a wall is very economical, warm, and durable. 

Having constructed the hotbed of the chosen 
material, all that remains to do is to put it in com- 
mission. To accomplish this, fresh horse manure 
sufficient to fill the beds quite to the top will be re- 

[59] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



quired. This should be procured before frozen from 
that which has accumulated over night from young, 
grain-fed horses. It should be mixed with straw 
or, better still, with leaves — an amount equal in 
bulk to the manure. This admixture of leaves or 
straw is very important, as this furnishes heat by 
the fermentation or heating of the manure and in- 
sures the permanency of the heat; were only 
manure used, the heat would be intense at the 
start, but soon die out for lack of fuel. 

The manure and leaves should be thoroughly 
mixed, and may be piled at once in the pits, pack- 
ing it down lightly that all parts of the pit may 
be filled, or it may be allowed to get well heated 
before filling the frames. Should the manure be 
very dry it may be sprinkled with hot water. 
Place the sash on the beds and leave the manure 
to heat, which will begin almost at once if the 
manure is all right. The temperature of the mass 
may be tested by a thermometer thrust into it, or 
if a pitchfork is thrust into the manure and allowed 
to remain a few moments and then withdrawn, it 
will show at once if the mass is heating. When the 
heat has penetrated every part of the mass, espe- 
cially the corners, it may be tramped down. Pro- 

[60] 



CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF HOTBEDS 



fessional gardeners put the manure in a pile and 
turn it over once or twice as it heats before placing 
it in the pits, but they handle so large a quantity 
that it is not possible to get sufficient at one time 
for all the beds, so older manure is used and allowed 
to heat in piles. For the home garden, however, I 
have found this way more satisfactory and far less 
work. Occasionally, when not able to get sufficient 
fresh manure for all my beds, I have supplemented 
it with manure from the heap at the barn, which 
had begun to heat, and have found it answered very 
well. 

When the temperature has risen to a hundred 
degrees or more the mass should be tramped down 
as firmly and evenly as possible and an inch or two 
of old manure, made very fine, placed on top of it. 
Over this place four or five inches of good soil, 
composed of garden loam, leaf mould, and a little 
sharp sand well mixed. The surface soil should 
be entirely free from all rough matter, stones, 
roots, and the like, and to secure this condition, it 
will be well to pass it through a sand sieve or coal- 
ash sieve. 

When the heat has begun to subside, so that the 
thermometer indicates ninety or less, the seed may 

[61] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



be sown. The soil should be moist, not wet or dry, 
and if for any reason it should be wet, it must be 
turned over and over and dried out until in a con- 
dition to use; if too dry, it may be watered with 
warm water from the sprinkler of the watering 
pot and then allowed to lie under the sash until 
the moisture is uniform. Soil which adheres to the 
trowel in working is too wet to plant. It should 
fall apart after being pressed in the hand, not 
form into a ball or lump. 

Before sowing the various seeds it will be well 
to obtain a supply of narrow strips of wood, 
which may be used to divide the various plats of 
seed from each other, by sinking them half way 
into the ground between the different sowings of 
seed. This is of moment, especially where more 
than one variety of different kinds of plants are 
sown — as cauliflower, cabbage, or tomatoes. Where 
but one kind of seed is sown in a sash, or one cab- 
bage and tomatoes, for instance, in which there 
can be no difficulty in distinguishing them, it will 
not be necessary; still the presence of these little 
barriers prevents the washing of fine seed when 
the plats are watered, and defines the boundaries 
of the plats. When one lives in the vicinity of a 

[62] 



CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF HOTBEDS 



box factory, long, thin, narrow strips of wood ad- 
mirable for this purpose can be secured. These 
make excellent labels, also, and should be pre- 
pared in advance of the time of planting. Not only 
the name of the seed should appear on these, but 
also the date of sowing and, where known, the 
period of germination. It is also well, where seeds 
of different seedsmen are used, to put the name or 
initials of the seedsman on the label. In this way 
one can judge of the relative value of the seeds, 
particularly if one is buying in large quantities. 

In planting the seed, it is necessary to consider 
carefully the requirements of the various plants, 
and give those requiring a considerable amount of 
heat a sash by themselves, which the partitions 
under each sash will make possible, and place those 
requiring less heat and more air by themselves. 

In gardening on a large scale, separate hotbeds 
should be used, and they should be started at differ- 
ent times to accommodate the requirements of the 
different plants ; but in the small home garden this 
is not practicable, for even one small bed, three by 
six feet, may, by the use of a partition, be used to 
start a variety of vegetables at the same time with 
very fair success. 

[63] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



Egg-plants, 2:)eppers, and tomatoes may be 
started under the same sash, the cabbage and cauH- 
flowers occupying the other sash. 

When the date at which the various seeds ger- 
minate is known, it will be well to plant those 
which germinate at the same time in the same part 
of the frame for convenience in handling. It is also 
well to plant those seeds which make the more 
robust plants in the rear of the beds, that they may 
not overshadow the remaining plants, though there 
is less danger of this in the vegetable frames than 
in the flower frames. 

Before beginning the sowing it will be well to 
provide one's self with a thin piece of wood, with 
a handle on one side to be used for pressing the 
seed into the soil. This is better than to try to pack 
it down with the hand, as it leaves a uniform pres- 
sure and a level surface. The board may be of any 
convenient size, but one about a foot long and ten 
inches wide will be convenient. 

It is immaterial whether the seeds be sown broad- 
cast or in drills; broadcasting requires rather less 
room, but plants in drills are more easily lifted and 
transplanted, and, where there is sufficient room, 

by placing the drills tliree or four inches apart, it 

[64] 



CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF HOTBEDS 



will be possible to transplant half of the plants in 
the drills into fresh rows between the drills, a proc- 
ess which will produce much better plants. How- 
ever, it is easier to scatter seed thinly when sowing 
it broadcast than in drills, and there is not so much 
danger of crowding. 

Seeds sown under the protecting care of the hot- 
bed do not need to be covered as deeply as when 
sown in the open ground, as they are protected 
from all changes of the weather, drying winds, 
burning sun, and washing rains. If well covered 
and the soil pressed firmly over them, that will be 
all that is really necessary in the matter of planting. 
An eighth of an inch of covering will be as much 
as such seeds as tomatoes, cabbages, and cauli- 
flowers require, providing they are never allowed 
to dry out. Egg-plants may be planted at the same 
time as peppers and tomatoes, but the same tem- 
perature required for these would be rather high 
for cabbage and cauliflower were it not for the 
fact that by careful airing and shading of the beds 
these last can be kept at a much lower temperature 
than the former. 

Both egg-plants and peppers germinate very 

slowly. Especially is this the case when the tem- 

[65] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



perature of the hotbed is not sufficiently high, and 
much care is required to so regulate the sash as 
to afford sufficient air without at the same time 
unduly lowering the temperature. When all the 
seeds are sown, pressed down, and labelled, the 
soil should be sprayed lightly with a rubber sprin- 
kler or the fine rose of a watering pot, covered 
with newspapers, the sashes closed, and the seed 
left to germinate. The beds must be examined 
every day to note if the soil is becoming dry, in 
which case it must be watered carefully as before, 
or if too wet and moisture gathers on the glass, 
the sash must be raised a little to allow the exces- 
sive moisture to pass off. 

When the first plat of seeds germinates and the 
tiny green leaves appear above the soil, the paper 
should be lifted from that much of the bed and 
placed on top of the glass, directly over the plat. 
This shields the plants from the direct rays of the 
sun, while allowing sufficient light to reach the 
plants indirectly for their proper growth at this 
stage. 

Many seeds have a tendency to come into the 
world heels up, and unless this penchant is cor- 
rected by turning the youngsters over into the 

[66] 



CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF HOTBEDS 



soil, by making a tiny depression in the soil be- 
side them with the point of a pencil to receive them, 
they are quite likely to perish. For this reason it 
is necessary to keep a close watch on the seedlings 
during the period of germination. The same end 
may be accomplished by sifting a little fine sandy 
soil over the seeds when they begin to germinate. 

It is doubtful if any portion of the summer 
gardening is of greater interest than this watch- 
ing of the breaking of the earth crust and the ap- 
pearance of the tiny, tender green heads, and if 
good seed has been used and the planting care- 
fully done, each square will present a mosaic of 
vigorous growth from the start. 

The hotbed must not be neglected during these 
early days of growth, as sudden changes of weather 
may cause untold disaster. The temperature in a 
closed bed, under the influence of a bright sun, 
rises rapidly and the beds dry out with amazing 
frequency, and it will be necessary to admit air 
and exclude, to some extent, the sun by placing 
papers over the glass and raising the sash a trifle 
for the escape of the surplus heat. If, however, 
there is also a wind, it will be necessary to guard 
the opening on the windward side by a bit of rug 

[67] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



or old carpet that no chill wind may blow over 
the exposed plants. Should the sun go under a 
cloud when the sash is open and the temperature 
fall, the sash must be closed at once. It will also 
be best to keep the sash closed during rains and 
lowery weather. 

One of the most serious difficulties which con- 
front the gardener in the management of a hotbed 
arises from a spell of hot weather when the plants 
are yet in their seed leaf, or the first week or two 
of growth; when this occurs to the extent of neces- 
sitating the closing of the beds for days at a time, 
especially if it also becomes necessary to protect 
the beds from the cold with rugs, not only shut- 
ting out the air but the light as well, then the situa- 
tion is indeed serious, as there is often much loss 
of plants from damping off. The only palliative 
treatment is to watch the weather and not water 
the beds, especially at night, when a spell of wet 
weather is imminent; if the beds go into bad 
weather in fairly dry condition they will come 
through in much better shape. It is, for this reason, 
always better to water early in the morning if con- 
ditions are favourable. 

The beds should be well protected with rugs or 
[68] 



CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF HOTBEDS 



mats on cold and frosty nights; glass radiates 
heat very rapidly after the sun goes down, and 
should, for that reason, in the early days of spring, 
be covered while yet it retains the heat. Whatever 
covering is used should be brought down well over 
the sides of the beds, and in windy weather should 
be held in place with racks or strips of wood. Shut- 
ters or some waterproof covering is necessary over 
the rugs in wet weather, as wet rugs or frozen 
ones do not exclude cold, and for this reason should 
be kept dry. 

As the weather grows warmer and the plants 
increase in size, more air and sun should be given 
and the sash may be partially raised throughout 
the warmer part of the day. If the sun is hot, 
newspapers should be placed over the sash or the 
glass whitewashed. Later the sash may be removed 
during the heat of the day and replaced with lath 
screens, and as the season for removing the plants 
to the open ground approaches, these, too, may 
be dispensed with and the plants given full ex- 
posure to harden them off and make the plants 
grow more stocky. 

Where there is room for it, much benefit will be 
derived from transplanting the plants, when they 

[69] . 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



have grown large enough to handle, into fresh rows 
or other hotbeds. Such plants as cabbage, cauli- 
flower, and lettuce may be transplanted into cold- 
frames or beds in the open ground, where they can 
be protected with canvas in case of sudden drop of 
temperature, and grown on until time for trans- 
ferring to permanent positions in the garden. 

COLDFRAMES AND PITS 

The coldframe is simply a frame of boards pro- 
vided with sash or other protective material, and 
differs from the hotbed principally in that it has 
no heating material or pit beneath it, but is set on 
the surface of the ground. It has many uses and is 
a valuable adjunct to the garden. In the small 
home garden it is most useful for starting early 
lettuce, for growing a few melons or cucumbers 
ahead of the outdoor crop, or for carrying lettuce 
and cauliflower through the winter in order to 
have an early crop of these. It is also useful for 
wintering plants of artichoke, which will not en- 
dure the winter in the open ground at the North. 
It is a very useful auxiliary of the hotbed when 
used for transplanting the plants from those beds 
in order to give more room to develop. A very 

[70] 



CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF HOTBEDS 



small hotbed can be made to do service for a good- 
sized garden if supplemented by a coldframe. 

The transplanting of any plant is a distinct ad- 
vantage, as it not only allows of greater top de- 
velopment, but the root development is also much 
improved, as a new growth of roots is induced 
with each removal; and the greater the amount of 
roots carried by the plant when it goes into the 
open ground, the better will be its development and 
subsequent growth. 

Any spent hotbed may be used as a coldframe 
through the summer and winter, and makes the 
best of places for the midsummer starting of pansy 
seeds and other flower perennials that are to be 
carried over the winter under sash. 

It is well in constructing coldframes for winter 
use exclusively to build them so that they may be 
taken apart if necessary and stored away during 
summer. This may be done by making the four 
sides separately and fastening them together with 
pegs, hinges, or hooks; the joints should be a per- 
fect fit, though, as the exclusion of cold is the first 
reason for their construction. 

Where the coldframe is intended for the pro- 
tection of any large number of plants, as in the 

[71] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



flower garden, where beds of roses, azaleas, rho- 
dodendrons, and the hke are to be protected, the 
span-roofed frame is preferable. This, as its name 
indicates, has a double sash or roof of glass and 
glass ends, being built with a wooden base a foot 
high all around and a frame about two feet high 
in the centre on which the sash rests, the gable ends 
being filled with glass. This is much more preten- 
tious than the common coldframe or hotbed and 
much more commodious. It is not necessarily pro- 
hibitively expensive, and will more than pay for 
itself in the protection it affords. 

The permanent hotbeds may be made useful and 
attractive during the summer by using them for 
planting out tropical plants or those requiring an 
unusual amount of heat and nourishment, as their 
location in the sunniest position furnishes the one 
and the great amount of manure they contain the 
other. No better place could be found for growing 
banana plants, whose luxuriant gro\^i:h requires 
just these conditions. It wall also be found a con- 
venience in applying water, as the frame and the 
lowness of the soil inside prevent all waste, and 
the soil can be kept wet under conditions that 

would be impossible in the open ground. 

[72] 



CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF HOTBEDS 



The space back of and between the wall and 
hotbed may be utilised for the growing of vines, 
and so render beautiful what might otherwise prove 
barren and unsightly. This would be an excellent 
position in which to grow a vine or two of the 
Niagara grape, as the building would afford it the 
protection it needs and the position on the south 
wall the necessary amount of sunshine and heat. 

In renewing hotbeds and pits, the old manure 
in the bottom should be separated from the soil and 
thrown in a pile by itself, and may be used as a 
top dressing for bulb-beds, shrubbery, and the like. 

The plant pit is another very useful adjunct to 
the garden, especially in the Middle and Southern 
States, but is of little use at the North, where it is 
only available for the wintering of tender roses, 
carnations, and the like — plants which require to 
be kept dry more than to be protected from frost. 

It is possible, however, to make use of the pit 
for the raising of winter lettuce, radishes, and the 
like, when it can be constructed in connection with 
the cellar, and so receive heat from the furnace or 
other source. When this is undertaken, an excava- 
tion should be made on a south wall, reaching 

down to the cellar bottom and having an entrance 

[73] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



into the cellar. The sash should slant sharply toward 
the south, and the frame should be of stone, cement, 
or brick construction, and if this can be built with 
a hollow wall, so much the better. Hollow cement 
tile furnishes a good, solid construction, or concrete 
may be built hollow by the use of cores. The sash 
should be provided with heavy wooden shutters and 
mats of straw or rugs to protect the pit in severe 
weather; these should be removed during the day 
whenever the weather permits. If the pit opens out 
of a furnace cellar and receives a good amount of 
sunshine, considerable growth will be made during 
the winter. The pit should be provided with shelves, 
which will permit of the placing of such plants as 
are wanted for immediate use close to the glass. 
Plants which are to be merely carried through the 
winter may rest on the floor of the pit or be placed 
midway between the top and floor. 

In a mild climate a shallow pit may be built 
against a south-cellar wall and access gained to it 
through a cellar window. This is a most inexpen- 
sive form of pit and affords an excellent place for 
the growing of violets. 



[74] 



CHAPTER SIX 
ON THE SOWING OF SEED 



1 HERE is no part of the garden work which calls 
for such nice judgment and careful attention as 
the sowing of seed. Most of the failures originate 
right here, and a large share of the blame devoted 
to the seeds and seedsman, if traced back to its 
original source, would be found to rest on the ig- 
norance or carelessnes of the gardener. In the first 
place, there is a tendency among a large class of 
people to get something for nothing or at least at 
a bargain. This results in the purchase of cheap 
seeds or premium seeds, or seeds are purchased of 
the local grocer or seedsman and may, probably, 
have lain on his shelves from the season before or 
an even earlier date. 

Now, to have a successful garden one must start 
right by buying good seeds of reliable seedsmen 
and seeds of plants suited to one's own locality. 
If, in addition, the seeds have been grown in prac- 

[75] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



tically the same latitude, so much the better; it in- 
sures a hardy constitution, acchmated to the con- 
ditions which prevail in your particular locality. 
Now, as a general thing, good seed means high- 
priced seeds or seeds for which one pays a reason- 
able amount. This is at it should be. One should 
not expect to raise premium vegetables from cheap, 
scrub seed, and there is as great a difference in the 
pedigree of seed as in that of animals. 

Then one should not only see that they are se- 
curing the best seed that the market affords but 
they should secure it in time, not wait until they 
are ready to plant and then rush off an order, hur- 
riedly prepared and half the things needed for- 
gotten and most of the others wrong, and expect 
to receive them by return mail. The spring of the 
year is a busy time with the seedsman, and it is but 
fair to him, as well as just to yourself, to give him 
a reasonable time to fill your order by getting it 
in early. If INIr. Jones has ordered an ounce of 
silver-skin peppers and ruby-king parsnips, there 
ought to be time allowed for the seedsman to inquire 
what Mr. Jones really wants, and not be obliged 
to fill his order by guesswork. Of course he will 

readily understand that what is wanted is ruby- 

[76] 



ON THE SOWING OF SEED 



king peppers and silver-skin onions, but how about 
the parsnips? 

Late in winter or early in spring one should go 
over their seeds which have been saved from the 
home garden and ascertain how far they meet the 
requirements of the coming year. Then a list of 
such seeds as are not on hand should be made and 
the catalogues consulted for prices and varieties. 
The list made up then may, probably will, need 
frequent revising, and by the time it is mailed to 
the seedsman may be trusted to supply just about 
the varieties and quantities wanted. And, speaking 
of quantity, it will be about as cheap, in a good 
many cases, to buy by the ounce as by the packet; 
especially is this the case with those seeds of which 
it may be necessary to make repeated sowings — as 
cucumbers, squashes, melons, beans, and the like. A 
cold, wet spring often entails much replanting, and 
sufficient seed should be on hand to enable one 
to replant at once when it is discovered that the 
first planting is for any reason abortive. Owing 
to the proneness of seeds of vine plants to rot in 
the ground if too wet or cold, a much greater 
quantity of seed is required. Generous planting of 
these seeds is also necessary on account of the rav- 

[77] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



ages of the squash bug, which must be hberally fed 
to induce him to leave a plant or two for the 
garden. 

Next in importance to the quality of the seeds 
is the time in which they are sown. There are a few 
seeds which may be gotten into the ground as 
early as it can be worked. Beets, cabbage, lettuce, 
onions, peas, salsify, spinach, and turnips are all 
planted for early crops as soon as the ground can 
be worked, but such early planting of corn, toma- 
toes, melons, cucumbers, and other heat-loving 
plants would simply result in the loss of both time 
and seed. 

The condition of the soil, also, has a marked in- 
fluence on the germination of the seed. When the 
ground is still wet from the frost in spring it is not 
in condition for successful sowing of seed; it is 
better to wait until it has dried sufficiently to be 
mellow and tractable before sowing any kind of 
seed. Too dry a soil is seldom a cause of complaint 
in early spring, but is a condition which sometimes 
gives trouble in the summer, when seed of various 
vegetables are sown for a succession — as late corn, 
turnips, and the like. As it is not expedient to wait 

for the rain at this time, the proper conditions are 

[78] 



ON THE SOWING OF SEED 



partially secured by tramping the seed down very 
firmly and watering the rows well after sowing. 
The thorough firming of the soil over the seed is 
of the utmost importance — this and the depth at 
which the seeds are planted — for in sowing seed in 
the open ground much greater depth is necessary 
than would be given the same seed in the hotbed. 

A case in point occurred this last season in my own 
garden, when the planting of peas, for a succession, 
and lima beans was left to an assistant. The most 
careful directions were given as to the manner in 
which they were to be sown. " Plant these peas," 
I said, handing him a package of Nott's Excelsior, 
" four inches deep and scatter them thinly in the 
rows. Tramp the rows down firmly, and when you 
have finished, go over the surface of the rows very 
lightly with the lawn rake. Be very careful to only 
scrape the surface of the soil, so as to leave a light 
dust mulch, so that the soil will not dry out; and 
these," handing a packet of Dreer's Bush Limas, 
" are to be planted two inches deep, two inches 
apart, in the drills, and the soil tramped down over, 
but these being planted so much more shallow, 
you need not use the rake. Make the drills for each 
a foot apart for two drills, then leave two feet be- 

[79] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



tween to cultivate through." " Yes'em, I under- 
stand." An hour later he reports for more work. 
"Well, how deep did you plant those peas?" 
" Four inches deep, tramped down the rows, and 
raked them over. Planted the beans two inches 
deep and two inches apart in the row and tramped 
them down," he answered glibly. Very good! A 
few days after a heavy rain and every pea on top 
of the ground, and all sprouted, but nowhere any 
beans. An investigation demonstrated that the 
beans were reposing four inches below the surface, 
all sprouted and decayed — result, the loss of both 
crops. He had simply " mixed those babies up." 
Had they been planted as directed, there would 
have been an excellent crop of semi-early peas and 
an abundant supply of beans. 

The tramping down of the seed should never be 
omitted when the ground is in a dry condition. On 
very wet soil it is not necessary nor best, but on dry 
soil it is indispensable. The reason for it is obvious. 
If the soil is dry and lies loosely about the seed, 
there will not be sufficient moisture to cause the 
seed to germinate. Or, should it be able to do so, 
the contact with the soil will not be close enough 

to allow the tiny roots to take hold upon it, and 

[80] 



ON THE SOWING OF SEED 



without this immediate connection, the young 
sprout cannot grow, but will wither and die. 
Planted in loose soil, the seed may lie in a space 
between two particles of soil, very tiny, but to the 
little hair-like roots a veritable cavern, through 
which they will grope in vain for food and moist- 
ure. When the earth is pressed firmly about the 
seed it comes in immediate contact at every point, 
and can at once, when germination takes place, 
lay hold upon the earth and grow. 

It is not well to plant seed, especially that which 
is only lightly covered, just before a hard rain, 
but a gentle rain is a distinct advantage. In the 
small home garden the delay of a day or two in 
the planting is not often the cause of serious loss, 
though it may well be of moment to the commer- 
cial gardener. It is much more important that it 
shall not be gotten into the ground too soon than 
that it shall not be planted too late. To be sure, if 
one has an abundance of seed and does not care 
for the labour involved, then the chances of getting 
an early crop by early planting may be worth 
while. But as a general thing, seed planted when 
the soil has become warm and the nights are warm, 

will make enough more rapid growth to more than 

[81] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



balance the difference in time, and can usually be 
trusted to overtake the earlier-planted seed plants. 

In my early gardening experience I was very am- 
bitious about getting things started at the earliest 
possible moment and to have things a little in ad- 
vance of my neighbours, but several years of cover- 
ing plants in the open ground to protect them from 
frost has quite cured me of any undue ambition; 
I am quite willing that my neighbour's tomatoes 
shall ripen a day or two ahead of mine if in return 
they will collect blankets, quilts, canvas, and other 
protective material and spend frosty hours spread- 
ing them over tender plants scattered over an acre 
or two of ground and trail around in the dew of 
the morning removing them, while I toast my toes 
by the fire and read my evening paper. 

Unless the time and the condition of the ground 

is entirely favourable, it will be well to plant only 

a portion of the seed at a time, reserving enough 

for a second planting should the first fail to come 

up or the young plants be destroyed in any way. 

Should the seeds fail to come up in a reasonable 

time, do not be in too great haste to blame the 

seedsman, but go over the operation carefully in 

your mind and try and see if the fault may not 

[82] 



ON THE SOWING OF SEED 



have been in your management of the seed. I know 
that this is not an especially pleasant task, for, in 
the first heat of disappointment, it is a relief to 
be able to blame some one else for our misfortunes, 
but I can assure you that it is a very profitable 
process and one by which the amateur gardener 
learns and grows wise. 



[83] 



CHAPTER SEVEN 
TRANSPLANTING 



It is a question whether the time at which tender 
plants shall go into the ground is a matter of pru- 
dence or of courage. If one has a good hotbed well 
stocked with plants on which to draw, then " he 
either fears his fate too much or his deserts are 
small. Who fears to put it to the touch, and win 
or lose it all," if the weather and soil are in a 
favourable condition for planting, for there is no 
question that one often gains two or three weeks 
by early planting. Nevertheless, the chances are 
against it, and it is not to be recommended where 
plants must be purchased, or all one's stock is put 
into the ground at once. 

It may be accepted as a rule that warm weather 
early in INIarch or April will be followed by a cold 
spell in early May, and that plants put into the 
ground ahead of this period will be apt to suffer, 

if, indeed, they do not perish outright. 

[84] 



TRANSPLANTING 



The kind and condition of the plants will have 
much importance in deciding the time at which 
they may be transferred to the open ground. If 
cabbage plants have been properly hardened off 
they may go into the ground much earlier than 
if very tender. For this reason plants which were 
started from seed sown in September of the pre- 
vious year and carried through the winter in cold- 
frames or those from seed in spring and well hard- 
ened can go into the ground as early as it can be 
worked in the spring, but tender plants from hot- 
beds, started the middle of March or first of April 
at the North, should not be set out before the first 
of May, and even then should have been well 
hardened off by exposure to the weather — nights 
as well as during the day — for a week or more. 
Cabbage plants which show a whitish-green shade 
are too tender for outdoor life, and it will be better 
to wait until they show a film of blue over the foli- 
age. Tender plants, like peppers and egg-plants, 
should not go into the ground until settled warm 
weather, which at the North will be any time from 
the twentieth of May to the first of June. 

Before commencing the transplanting of any 

vegetables the ground should be thoroughly pre- 

[85] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



pared by ploughing and dragging — both ways — 
and floating off, or if spading is necessary, it 
should be very thoroughly done, so that the soil is 
entirely broken up and pulverised, and the steel 
rake should be used to get the surface into as fine 
a condition as possible. The lines for the plants 
should be set and the distance apart the plants are 
to stand in the rows indicated. INIarket gardeners 
use a marker consisting of a long pole with a cross- 
piece at one end of the length of the distance apart 
of the rows and provided with a triangular piece 
of wood, as a marker or peg, at each end. This 
is drawn over the ground in each direction and a 
plant set at each intersection of the lines. It is very 
little more trouble to use a garden line and reel, 
and the result is much straighter lines. A garden 
tape, which has the feet marked in red numbers, 
is handy in this connection, and as a hundred-foot 
line is inexpensive, it will be found a very profit- 
able thing to have about the garden. 

It will much simplify the planting to have the 
rows marked out and the holes dug before any 
plants are lifted from the beds. The hotbeds should 
have been well watered the night before, and if the 
number of plants is not large, planting may be 

[86] 



TRANSPLANtlNCi 



delayed until the late afternoon of the following 
day. Planting large numbers of plants in this way 
may be done in several days. Great care should 
be exercised in lifting the plants from the beds; 
they should not be grasped by the handful in the 
hand and pulled up hke so many weeds — a process 
which leaves most of the roots in the ground — but 
should have the trowel passed well down below their 
roots and a section lifted carefully out, the plants 
being separated as they are set. The advantage of 
this method will be apparent if one will compare 
the roots of the carefully lifted plants with those 
pulled up in the usual haphazard way. The latter 
will have one long root, with a few fragments of 
side root adhering, while the carefully lifted and 
separated plant will show a fine mass of fibrous 
roots, which will at once take hold upon the soil 
in the new position and begin to feed the plant 
and produce growth, while the badly lifted plant 
must first replace the roots of which it was so 
ruthlessly bereft before it can give any nourish- 
ment or assistance to the top. 

Only as many plants should be lifted at once as 
may be gotten into the ground before they wilt. 

Keeping the plants in good condition until they 

[87] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



are safely in the ground is half the battle in trans- 
planting. 

In setting the plants, the directions for the sev- 
eral kinds of vegetables as to distance apart of the 
rows and space between the plants in the row 
should be followed, but the same general principles 
must be followed in the transplanting. 

A hole should be made for each plant, large 
enough and of sufficient depth to hold the roots 
in the same position they occupied in the hotbed 
and the roots placed so that the plant sets slightly 
lower than it did in the hotbed. Draw a portion 
of the soil about the roots and press it down firmly 
with the hands. If the soil is very dry, fill the hole 
with water, and when it has nearly soaked away 
draw up the remainder of the earth and settle this 
snugly, but not hard, about the plant; after all is 
done, go over the ground lightly with the trowel, 
so as to leave a fine dust mulch about the plant. 

The work of planting will be much simplified 

where the plants are set in long rows by setting 

all the plants in the holes before applying the 

water; one can then go along the rows vnth a pail 

and dipper and fill the holes with water, and by 

the time the end of the row is reached, the first 

[88] 




PAPER COLLAB TO PROTECT PLANT FROM 
CUT WORMS 



A HOME-MADE DIBBLE 



1 



TRANSPLANTING 



holes will be ready for filling, and by the time 
all are filled, any moisture which may work to the 
surface will have had time to appear and may be 
covered with a dust mulch. The planting should all 
be looked over carefully before leaving to see if 
any wet spots appear; when such is the case, they 
must be immediately covered with fresh, dry earth. 
No covering or protection of any kind need be 
given, except in case of frost. The dust mulch 
takes the place of shingles, paper, or anything used 
to protect from the sun. Properly planted, with 
the soil firmly pressed about the roots and well 
watered and the protecting dust mulch preventing 
the heating of the soil or evaporation of moisture, 
the tops exposed to the fresh air and sunshine, the 
plant is in the best possible condition to withstand 
the change of position; also, if it has been watered 
the night before and lifted in the morning before 
the sun has materially reduced its strength, the 
plant cells are full of water and will not need to 
call on the roots for a supply until a time they are 
in a position to respond. 

There is no one fallacy I find so much trouble 
in overcoming in people I employ about my gar- 
den, or with whom I come in contact in gardening 

[89] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



matters, as that of the necessity of protecting 
newly set plants. I was brought up in the ortho- 
dox dogmas of gardening and taught to protect 
everything that went into the ground until it had 
taken root, and I remember the wearisome hours 
spent in placing shingles, paper caps, and the like 
between the plant and any possible rays of the sun ; 
and I especially recall several hundred small plants 
which were once covered with the most " scien- 
tific " of paper caps, provided with an attached 
stick to thrust into the ground to hold them in 
place. I spent the leisure hours of several evenings 
fashioning these out of stiff paper, and I viewed 
with pride the little army of tents in orderly array 
that gleamed white in the morning sun. But my 
pride turned to humiliated dismay when the tents 
were lifted at eventide that the plants might have 
the benefit of the night air; fully fifty per cent 
of my plants lay wilted and dying. The water in 
the soil, unhindered by any protecting dust mulch, 
had, under the ardent rays of the sun, drawn to 
the surface and, confined within the narrow con- 
fines of the tents, was rapidly reduced to steam, 
and the poor plants, confined within a Turkish 

bath, were literally cooked to death. That ended 

[90] 



TRANSPLANTING 



my use of any kind of protection, and I have fre- 
quently, in the years that have intervened between 
that disastrous experience and to-day, set out 
plants of balsam a foot in height in the hottest 
sunshine without a sign of wilting — and few plants 
wilt more readily than these. 

Having gotten the plants safely and rightly 
into the ground, let them alone. This is another 
much-mooted point. Almost everyone who sets 
out plants during the day is possessed to go put- 
tering around at nightfall with a watering pot or 
pail and dipper with which to water the newly set 
plants. This is not only unnecessary but actually 
harmful if the plants have been properly set. It 
destroys the dust mulch and defeats the purpose 
of all the care in planting. Instead, then, of water- 
ing the plants, go over the rows late at night or 
early in the morning and restore the dust mulch 
to any part that shows wet. 

Should rain occur in a day or two after planting, 
the ground must be gone over, as soon as it can be 
worked, with trowel, rake, or hoe, to create a fresh 
mulch of dust. 

There is a prevalent prejudice in favour of 
planting just before a rain. That is, in certain con- 

[91] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



ditions of the weather, a very good plan to follow. 
If the rain promises to be a long one, or what is 
known as a spell of wet weather, the plants may 
safely go into the ground, but if nothing more 
than a summer shower threatens, which is likely 
to be followed by bright sunshine, it will be well 
to wait until it clears. Bright, settled weather 
offers the best of conditions for planting, as then 
one can control conditions. A succession of showers, 
with bright sunshine, or hot, muggy weather, is 
the most unfavourable condition; the wet earth, 
under the influence of a hot sun, steams and cooks, 
and as there is no fresh wind to carry away the un- 
wholesome vapours, the tender plants suffer as 
much as we do. Cloudy weather, on the contrary, 
following after a good rain, affords the very best 
condition for the establishing of the plant in the 
ground. As a usual thing the plants will not re- 
quire watering for several days, but should any 
appear to suffer, a hole may be made by the side 
of the plant with trowel or dipper and this filled 
with water and the dry mulch restored. 

In setting some plants in the soil, if of weak 
growth, it will be well to remove a portion of the 

top. This is universally done by Dutch gardeners, 

[92] 



TRANSPLANTING 



who remove all but the top leaves of cabbage and 
cauliflowers, and these two they denude of the 
upper half of the leaves, and I have found it an 
advantage in my own practice. It not only relieves 
the roots of the care of the top to a great extent, 
but, by lightening the tops, the weight is removed 
from the stem, which is enabled to retain an up- 
right position. Strip every other plant of its leaves 
and it will be standing upright when the full-leaved 
plants are bending weakly under the weight of 
their tops. 

Tomato plants are often " drawn " from crowd- 
ing and form what is known as a " knee " by bend- 
ing downward towards the ground and then assum- 
ing an upright position at this point when roots 
form all along the horizontal part of the stem. In 
setting the plants in the ground, they may be set 
deep enough to cover this crooked part with advan- 
tage. Where the plants have become very crooked 
and drawn, it is a good plan to make the hole in 
the form of a shallow trench and lay the plant 
therein, leaving only the top exposed, first remov- 
ing the leaves below this point. The exposed part 
will assume an upright position as soon as growth 

begins and make fine, stocky plants. 

[93] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



All newly set plants are at the mercy of cut- 
worms, and the rows must be gone over every 
morning early to see what, if any, damage has oc- 
curred over night. Wherever a plant is found cut 
off, immediate search must be made for the cul- 
prit. A moment's search will generally discover 
him just below the surface of the soil near the de- 
capitated plant. Any loose dirt or rubbish will 
serve as a hiding place for him, and this tendency 
may be taken advantage of to trap him by laying 
pieces of board or chips on the ground near the 
plant, under which he may hide. But as he does 
not hide until he has had his meal, this is much like 
locking the stable door after the horse is stolen; 
but then, of course, his capture and execution will 
prevent his eating other plants. 

Where the plantings are small, it pays to sur- 
round the plants with collars of stiff paper, three 
or four inches high. These should be pressed into 
the ground a half inch, and care should be taken 
to see that there are no worms inside the collar 
when it is placed. Old tin cans with the bottoms 
burned out are also a good protection, but the 
trouble with these is that they must all be gathered 

up in the fall and disposed of in some way. An- 

[94] 



TRANSPLANTING 



other remedy which leaves no after-work is to 
poison the worms, and this I have found very suc- 
cessful. Cut clover wet with sweetened water and 
Paris green is often used, but I prefer a mixture 
of corn meal and Paris green, made thin enough 
to run, and poured in a ring around the stem of 
the plant, a little way from it. The only objection 
to this is when chickens are about, but as no 
little chickens are likely to be abroad at this time 
of the year, and large ones should be in confine- 
ment, this is of Httle moment, and the first cultiva- 
tion will turn it under the soil. 

I usually find it necessary to go over the gar- 
den every morning for a week, and each time re- 
place more or less of the plants before I am finally 
rid of the pests. 

Cabbages, cauhflowers, and tomatoes are the 
plants most affected by the cut-worm, but his 
depredations do not stop in the vegetable garden, 
as he is equally destructive to the flower garden; 
and some vine plants can never be secure without 
an encircling collar of tin or other substance. 



[95] 



CHAPTER EIGHT 
TOOLS WHICH MAKE GARDENING EASY 



1 HE number of tools which it is really necessary 
for one to have is not large; but if the amateur 
gardener tries to get along with a hoe, a rake, and 
a spade, he is sure to have long, tedious hours of 
hard work. 

The tool which will be most used during the 
season is, of course, the hoe, for the weeds grow 
rapidly. By using a wheel-hoe you can save all that 
backaching work. I kept a three-fourths-acre vege- 
table garden in good shape all summer with one. 
Only a couple of hours were needed in which to 
stir the surface of the whole garden. This was done 
regularly once a week and after each rain. 

The wheel-hoe is the handiest tool in the garden. 
It may be fitted with ploughs, rakes, cultivator- 
teeth, flat-hoes, which work like the scuffle-hoe, and 
seed-sowing attachments. They cost anywhere from 
$3.50 up, according to the kind you get and the 
number of attachments that you wish, 

[96] 



TOOLS WHICH MAKE GARDENING EASY 



There are single-wheeled and double-wheeled 
wheel-hoes. Some have small wheels and others 
large. It is the small-wheeled ones that have all the 
attachments. 

In the spring, after your garden is ploughed or 
spaded, the rakes may be substituted for the hoes 
and the ground levelled. Then the little plough- 
share is put on, and the drills in which the seeds 
are to be sown can be made — that is, if you are 
going to sow them by hand. It is easier, however, 
to have a seed-sowing attachment on the wheel-hoe. 
It costs about $7, but I really believe that it is 
worth it. It saves one from getting down on his 
knees, or doubling up like a jack-knife, when sow- 
ing the seed, and, as the machine is regulated so 
that the seed may be sown any thickness desired 
and the work done much more evenly, a given 
quantity of seed will go farther than if sown by 
hand. As soon as the seed-leaves show above the 
ground, cultivating commences with the regular 
cultivator-teeth. And this should be continued all 
summer long, using scuffle-hoes to cut off the 
weeds, or the teeth of rakes to keep the dust mulch 
in good condition. 

In selecting a wheel-hoe, it will be necessary to 
[97] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



consider the size of the pocket-book. I prefer the 
one with double wheels, for it can be used in most 
places to better advantage than the single-wheel 
hoe. It is an extremely handy tool to have late in 
May and early in June, when the weeds are grow- 
ing fast. It is made to straddle the row. You should 
fit it with scuffle-hoes, which can be so nicely ad- 
justed that all the weeds except those between the 
plants can be cut off. It is especially useful on 
such crops as onions. 

The only large-wheeled hoe which I ever used 
was like the one shown in the illustration. It is easy 
to run — easier, I think, than the small-wheeled 
ones — but it has the big disadvantage of not hav- 
ing detachable tools. However, if the hoe is to be 
used only to maintain a dust mulch, it does equally 
as well as the small-wheeled one and involves less 
labour. 

For the larger garden, which is to be cultivated 

by horse-power, there are several good makes of 

cultivators, which have changeable teeth and hoes. 

These cultivators have light, but strong, steel 

frames, so are easily handled. They have levers, 

by means of which the cultivator can be instantly 

changed from one width to another, so that it can 

[98] 




S s 



a S 
X ^ 



TOOLS WHICH MAKE GARDENING EASY 



work in narrow or wide rows. Other levers regulate 
the angle at which the teeth are set. These horse- 
cultivators can be used for making furrows, cul- 
tivating, hoeing, and covering hills and furrows. 
Many times have I made the furrows for my po- 
tatoes with this, and then followed the boy who 
dropped the seed with the same machine, but with 
other attachments to draw the soil in the row and 
firm it. 

Where the amount of cultivating will warrant it, 
I would recommend buying a spike-tooth culti- 
vator. For stirring the soil to create a dust mulch, 
it is better than the ordinary cultivator in that it 
does not leave the soil in ridges but perfectly flat 
and very fine. 

Of the ordinary hoes there are a great variety. 
The common one is useful for straight hoeing, 
and, if kept sharp, does good work, but there are 
special hoes which are much better; they do the 
same work and do it more easily. There is a heart- 
shaped hoe which is particularly useful for making 
furrows. There are hoes with scalloped edges, 
which, if kept sharp, will cut weeds with about one- 
half the effort that is necessary to draw the ordi- 
nary straight-edged hoe through the ground. The 

[99] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



best hoe I ever used for hoeing corn looked a good 
deal like a rake, but the teeth were thin and half 
an inch broad. 

One trouble with all these hoes is that the oper- 
ator walks over the ground he has already worked, 
and treads the weeds which have just been cut 
off back into the earth, where they take root again. 
With a scuffle-hoe it is different. The best way to 
use this is for the operator to walk backward, so 
that the newly stirred ground shall not be walked 
on. Most of these scuffle-hoes have straight edges 
and are pushed, but there are V-shaped ones which 
are made to pull, the ends of which are turned up, 
so that the possibility of cutting off a plant is re- 
moved. When using an ordinary hoe, one invari- 
ably bends his back. There is no necessity for doing 
so, but, somehow, nearly every one does it. With 
a scuffle-hoe this tendency is entirely obviated. You 
can pull or push a scuffle-hoe all day without get- 
ting a backache. 

There is a scuffle-hoe made mounted on a wheel 
which is pushed " steady by jerks," as is the ordi- 
nary wheel-hoe. Although I have never used it, I 
like its appearance very much. 

The spade is a necessary tool in the garden, for 
[100] 




Ji' ^VT»' ^' "^ \ 



TOOLS WHICH MAKE GARDENING EASY 



there is always more or less digging to do. For 
digging celery, I have found a small spade to be 
much better than those of the standard size, but 
if one has only a little celery it would not be worth 
his while to get one. If it is necessary to spade the 
garden rather than plough it, by all means do it 
with a spading fork. It has four or five strong 
prongs. The difference in weight between this and 
a spade is considerable, so that by its use one saves 
himself from lifting a good many pounds while 
digging over the garden. Besides, it is much easier 
to push into the ground. 

A good garden line is indispensable. Get a good 
linen line and keep it on a reel. One hundred feet 
of line and a first-class reel will cost about $1. 
Keep it dry, or dry it out if it becomes wet, and it 
will last for years. 

For weeding small plants like onions, radishes, 
and such like, a hand-weeder is useful. There are 
two types : one is like a hand with bent fingers and 
the other is a narrow band of iron bent at a right 
angle. I have used both with equal success. 

A cart or wheel-barrow, or even both, will be 

found necessary. The best kind of a cart for the 

small garden is one which has a platform with a 

[101] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



detachable box; for whenever it is necessary to 
carry water in a barrel for spraying purposes, you 
can put the barrel and pump on it in place of the 
box. 

Where large amounts of corn are to be planted, 
use a corn-planter. These are made in two general 
forms : one to thrust into the ground by main force 
where the corn is to grow and the other is on 
wheels, and by a mechanism attached to a driving 
wheel the corn is dropped at stated intervals into a 
furrow made by a share on the machine and cov- 
ered by two wings. Both these types of machine 
carry the seed in a box or inside the machine, and 
are so regulated that the required number of ker- 
nels are dropped in each hill. The machines, which 
run on wheels, also have a fertiliser attachment 
which drops about a tablespoonful of commercial 
fertiliser in each hill. Either of these tools will prove 
handy and money savers where an acre or more of 
corn has to be planted. 

For setting out plants, one can get a variety of 

trowels, curved, straight, and angled. I have found 

the angled trowel exceedingh^ useful in setting out 

such small plants as cabbage, cauliflower, and the 

like. 

[102] 



TOOLS WHICH MAKE GARDENING EASY 



Do you ever have any trouble in cutting aspar- 
agus? I did until I purchased an asparagus knife. 
There are several forms of these knives, but they 
are all made long, so that one can get down three 
or four inches under the surface of the soil to cut 
it and do less damage among the shoots which have 
started. 



[103] 



CHAPTER NINE 
ON THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 



1 HERE are several forms of vegetables which, 
while the culture is not specially dissimilar, may 
yet, for convenience, be divided into five classes: 
those the edible part of which is produced beneath 
the surface of the soil and are known as root vege- 
tables; those which set fruit above ground; those 
whose fruit is produced on vines; such plants as 
are used entire, as lettuce and the various greens, 
and those perennial forms which include the aspar- 
agus, artichokes, rhubarb and horse-radish, and the 
like. 

We will first consider the general culture of the 
plants which produce heads, pods, ears, or other 
fruit, and which may be roughly designated as 
head or pod vegetables. 

BEANS 

Are a tender class of vegetables, and the seed of any 

varieties should not be planted out until the nights 

[ 104 ] 




A GOOD C'OLLECTIOX OF HOME-GROWX VEGETABLES 
LETTUCE MATURING IX HOME-^L\DE CO[-DFR.«IE 



THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 



and soil are warm. Usually the middle of May, 
at the North, will be found to be quite early 
enough. In cold, wet soil the seed will decay in- 
stead of growing, while the opposite is true where 
the seed is given a warm location and a warm, 
sandy soil. The soil should be deeply prepared and 
well enriched with old manure. 

The seed of bush varieties should be sown in 
drills, two feet apart, and the beans dropped two 
inches apart in the row and covered two inches deep, 
treading down the earth after planting. 

If the beans are to be used for string beans or 
fresh shell beans, they may be planted every two 
weeks for a succession, but for dried beans to use 
with pork in winter, should be planted early and 
l^ept well cultivated and clean until the pods ripen 
in the fall. 

Beans should not, for best results, be planted in 
a low, wet place or in too much shade. They must 
not be worked or handled when wet, as this will 
cause them to mildew. Therefore a warm, sunny 
position, where they will dry quickly in the morn- 
ing, is best. 

Bush Lima beans, so much preferred for succo- 
tash by many, are rapidly superseding the pole 

[105] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



Lima. These are planted the same as other bush 
beans and given the same culture. They come 
fairly true from seed and are heavy producers. 
They make an excellent dry bean for winter use. 
They come quite true from seed, but occasionally 
a plant will show a disposition to run, and when 
this is noticed, it will be well to pull it up, as it 
will tangle up the other plants and interfere with 
their cultivation and gathering. 

One quart of bean seed will plant a hundred 
feet of drill and give sufficient beans for a good- 
sized family. They may be planted for a succes- 
sion of string beans up to the fifteenth of August. 
Pole varieties yield much larger crops than the 
bush forms, and by training to strings, wire net- 
ting, etc., may be planted close up to the garden- 
fence or the poultry-yard, or serve as a screen to 
hide outbuildings or parts of the garden if desired. 
The expense of poles is, however, avoided by plant- 
ing only the bush varieties. 

The varieties most generally cultivated are the 
following : 

r Dwarf Golden Wax. 
Wax string beans. ■< Yellow-eyed Golden Podded. 
( Black Wax. 

[106] 



THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 

( Early Valentine. 
Green string beans. | ^^^j^ g.^ ^^^^^ 

( Dwarf Horticultural. 
Green shell beans. j g^^p^^.^ Q^^^f Lima. 

r Small Pea. 
Field or winter beans. } White Marrow. 
( Red-eyed Field. 



DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING BEANS 
STRING BEANS 

Break off the end that grew upon the vine, 
drawing off at the same time the string upon the 
edge ; repeat the same process upon the other edge ; 
cut them with a sharp knife into pieces half an 
inch long and boil them in just enough water to 
cover them. They usually require about an hour 
in which to cook tender, but this depends upon 
their age and freshness, beans Avhich are at all 
wilted taking much longer. 

After they have cooked tender and the water 

has very nearly cooked away, add pepper and salt, 

a tablespoonful of butter, and half a cup of cream; 

if no cream is available, use milk and a little more 

butter. 

[107] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



LIMA AND KIDNEY BEANS 

These beans should be put into boiling water — 
a little more than enough to cover them — and boiled 
till tender, about half an hour if young and fresh, 
but as much as two hours may be required if old 
and somewhat wilted. Season with butter, pepper, 
and salt. 

SUCCOTASH 

Take a pint of fresh-shelled Lima beans, or any 
large, fresh beans; put them in a pot with enough 
cold water to a little more than cover them. Scrape 
the kernels from twelve ears of young, sweet corn, 
first carefully removing every particle of silk; put 
the cobs in with the beans, boiling from a half to 
three-quarters of an hour. Then take out the cobs 
and put in the corn, boiling fifteen minutes. Season 
with salt and pepper to taste, a lump of butter the 
size of an egg, and half a cup of cream. Serve hot. 

BEAN SALAD 

String young beans; break into half -inch pieces 

or leave whole; wash, and cook soft in salt water; 

drain well ; add finely chopped onions, pepper, salt, 

[108] 



THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 



and vinegar; when cool, add olive oil or melted 
butter. 

PORK AND BEANS 

Take two quarts of white beans, pick them over 
the night before, and put them to soak in cold 
water ; in the morning put them in fresh water and 
let them scald, then turn off the water and put on 
more, hot; put to cook with them a piece of fresh 
salt pork, as large as desired ( sufficient for serving 
sliced when cold is desirable), or the pork may be 
boiled separately and added to the beans when put 
in the oven; this is less greasy and more appetis- 
ing. Boil slowly till soft (not mashed), then add 
a tablespoonful of molasses, half a teaspoonful of 
soda, and a teaspoonful of made mustard; stir in 
well and put in a deep pan to bake, first placing 
in the centre of the bottom of the pan a medium- 
sized raw onion and over this the square of pork, 
pouring the beans around the pork, not over it. 
Bake one hour and a half. 

CABBAGE 

At the North cabbages are usually started in cold- 
frames or hotbeds early in March and planted out 
as soon as danger of killing frosts is passed. They 

[109] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



succeed best in a deep, rich soil, heavily manured, 
and in some localities cannot be grown successfully 
on the same ground year after year; in other sec- 
tions this does not seem to make any difference, 
and in my own garden they have grown in the same 
spot for several successive seasons. 

They should be well cultivated and kept free 
from weeds. The cabbage worm is very trouble- 
some in some sections, but in the private garden 
need not make any serious trouble. As soon as the 
little white butterflies appear, the plants should be 
watched for the presence of eggs, and when these 
are found and removed, the worms are disposed 
of; the eggs will be found in a small yellow patch 
on the underside of the leaves; they are quite con- 
spicuous, and easily removed. 

Early cabbage is sometimes given to cracking as 
soon as rij^e, and must be used at once, as the new 
growth commences then. To prevent this, the roots 
may be cut off on one side of the plant as soon as 
the head has attained its growth and the plant 
tipped over on its side ; this checks growth, and the 
head will then keep for some time. 

For late cabbage, seed is sown in the open ground 

from April to June, and the plants transplanted 

[110] 



THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 



into permanent rows early in July, setting the 
plants in rows two and a half feet apart and two 
feet apart in the rows, which is the space allowed 
the early cabbage. The cabbage fly is likely to trou- 
ble the young seedling cabbage plants, and they 
should be dusted with wood ashes, air-slacked lime, 
tobacco dust, or road dust, as soon as the plants 
are above ground ; this should be done while yet the 
plants are wet with dew in the morning. 

The Early Jersey Wakefield is one of the best 
early cabbages, being very solid and hard and of 
conical shape. For those who prefer a looser head, 
the Flat Dutch varieties are excellent. 

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING CABBAGE 
BOILED CABBAGE 

It is best boiled with corned beef, and should be 
cooked whole or divided in halves or quarters ac- 
cording to the size of the head. It should be very 
carefully washed and looked over before adding to 
the meat, as worms and other undesirable tenants 
are sometimes inclosed within its leaves. The large 
Drumhead cabbages require an hour to boil, while 

the green. Savoy cabbage will cook in a half -hour, 

[111] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



SO that they should be added to the meat the neces- 
sary length of time before the former will be done. 
Over-cooking must be avoided, as it makes the 
cabbage watery. 

Pepper vinegar is a delicious condiment to serve 
with boiled cabbage, and is made by putting an 
ounce of the seed of cayenne peppers in a quart bot- 
tle and filling up with white-wine vinegar; this is 
corked and allowed to remain for several weeks, 
or until the strength of the pepper seeds is all 
extracted, when it should be turned off carefully 
into vinegar cruets. 

WARM SLAW 

To prepare this delicious dish of cabbage, slice 
the cabbage fine with a sharp knife or slaw-cutter 
and put over the stove in a skillet, with a little 
butter or fry-grease. Have ready a half cup of 
cream and the yolk of two eggs, well beaten to- 
gether, and seasoned with salt and pepper and 
sharp vinegar to taste. Turn this over the cabbage 
and allow it to come to the boil, but not to cook, 
and serve at once. 



[112] 



THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 



CREAMED CABBAGE 

Slice the cabbage as for slaw; beat together the 
yolks of two eggs, one-half cup of sugar, one-half 
cup of vinegar, butter size of an egg, salt, and a 
little cayenne pepper. Put the mixture into a sauce- 
pan and stir until it boils; then stir in one cup of 
cream, boil, and turn over the cabbage while hot. 

CABBAGE SALAD 

Beat up two eggs with two tablespoonfuls of 
sugar, add a piece of butter the size of half an egg, 
a teaspoonful of mustard, a little pepper, and 
lastly half a cup of vinegar. Put all these ingredi- 
ents in a dish over the fire and cook like a soft 
custard. Add half a teacup of thick, sweet cream, 
but when this is done use less vinegar. 

CAULIFLOWERS 

Are given practically the same culture as cab- 
bages, starting the plants in the hotbed in April 
and planting out when danger of heavy frost is 
past. 

Particular attention must be paid to the young 
plants for the first week, as they are very hable to 

[113] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



be cut off by cut-worms. When this occurs, the 
only remedy is to replace the plants with others 
from the coldframe. 

Spring outdoor-started plants will not give 
very early cauliflowers, but will come on in July 
and August, and are used for pickling as well as for 
the table. Where it is desired to grow cauliflowers 
for the summer use on the table, it will be neces- 
sary to start the plants very early in the hotbeds, 
or in the South start in the fall and winter them 
in coldframes, and plant out as early in spring as 
the ground can be worked. The wintering in cold- 
frames hardens them, so that this early planting 
is possible, which is not the case with the tender 
greenhouse or hotbed plants. At the North, plants 
of the cabbage and cauliflower cannot well be kept 
over in coldframes. 

If there is a rather wet, low spot in the garden, 
it may be used for the cauliflower better than for 
almost any other vegetable. 

The cabbage worm often causes serious trouble 
with the cauliflowers, and as soon as the little white 
butterflies are seen hovering about the plants, 
search must be made for the eggs and these de- 
stroyed. They will be found on the underside of 

[114] 





CAULIFLOWER LEAVES DRAWN OVER THE HEAD TO BLANCH IT 



PEAS AS THEY APPEAR WHEN PROPERLY GROWN 



THE (; R O W I N CJ OF V A II I O (J S V E G E T A B L E S 



the leaves — a little patch of yellow eggs — and are 
easily removed. 

As soon as the curd, or head, is set and is as 
large as a teacup, the plant must be tied up by 
drawing the tips of the leaves together and tying 
them with a string. This must never be done, how- 
ever, when it is wet with rain or dew. Mid-day, on a 
bright day, is the best time for the work. If tied 
up when the leaves or curd is wet, the heads will 
decay; if not tied up, a second growth will quickly 
start and ruin the heads. 

Unlike cabbage, cauliflowers cannot be kept 
during winter, being very perishable, and must 
be used within a day or two of attaining perfec- 
tion, or the flavour is impaired. Caidiflower is one 
of the most delicious of table vegetables and should 
come into general use; it is far more delicate in 
flavour than cabbage, and one of the most attract- 
ive vegetables which appears on the table. 

Very good cauliflower may be raised by the or- 
dinary culture given cab})age — cauliflowers aver- 
aging eight or nine inches across — but to grow 
really fine heads, a foot or fifteen inches in diameter, 
snowy white, and perfect, requires special culture. 

To this end the plants must have an abundant water 

[115] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



supply during the dry months of the summer, 
watering every other day, and cultivating between 
times. Liquid manure should be given at least once 
a week, and twice a week will be better. With this 
extra care, cauliflowers may be produced that will 
be the envy of one's neighbours, and may contend 
for the blue ribbon at the county fair. 

Cauliflowers do better during cool weather, and 
are at their best in the late days of September and 
October. A light frost seems to benefit rather than 
injure them, and tying the leaves over the curd 
protects them from even a severe frost, but when 
a frost has cut the leaves badly, the curds should 
be gathered and used, as decay sets in very soon 
after. 

In watering cauliflowers, the water should be 
poured about the roots, never over the tops of 
plants which have set heads; a system of irrigation 
would be of much benefit to this plant. 

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING CAULIFLOWER 

In preparing cauliflower for cooking, it must be 

very carefully washed and looked over; if worms 

have been present on the heads, it will be better to 

[116] 



THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 



separate the head into small segments rather than 
to try to cook it entire, which is the more attractive 
way of serving it. 

BOILED CAULIFLOWER 

Cook whole, or divide in segments and cook in 
salted water until tender. If served whole, make a 
dressing of cream, butter, pepper, and salt, and 
turn over and around the cauliflower served on a 
platter. If broken in pieces, drain off the water 
from the cauliflower and add a half teacup of 
cream, a small tablespoonful of butter and pepper, 
and salt to taste. Serve hot. 

FRIED CAULIFLOWER 

Boil the cauliflower until about half done; mix 

two tablespoonfuls of flour with the yolks of two 

eggs, then add enough water to make a rather thin 

paste; add salt to taste. The two whites are beaten 

till stiff and then mixed with the yolks, flour, and 

water. Dip each branch of the cauliflower into the 

mixture and fry them in hot fat. When done, take 

them out with a skimmer, turn into a colander, 

dust salt all over, and serve warm. 

[117] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 
PICKLED CAULIFLOWER 

Break the heads into small pieces and boil ten or 
fifteen minutes in salt water ; remove from the water 
and drain carefully. When cold, place in glass cans 
and pour over them white-wine vinegar, boiling 
hot, if a clear, white pickle is desired. If a mustard 
pickle is preferred, add a liberal supply of whole 
cloves, pepper, allspice, and white mustard seed, 
tied in a bag and scald in the vinegar; remove 
from the fire, and add to each quart of the vine- 
gar two teaspoonfuls of French mustard and half 
a cup of white sugar. Turn this over the cauli- 
flower in the cans, making sure that the vinegar 
covers the cauliflower, and seal the same as canned 
fruit. A few red-pepper pods added to the clear 
vinegar of the plain pickle adds much to its ap- 
pearance. 

SWEET CORN 

Is one of the more tender vegetables the seed of 

which should not be planted until all danger of 

frost is passed. This, at the North, will be as late 

as the twentieth of May, though a chance crop my 

be planted by May 1st on light, warm soil. One 

[118] 



THE GROWING OP VARIOUS VEGETABLES 

quart of seed will plant two hundred hills, which 
should be made three feet apart each way. The seed 
should be planted in slightly raised hills, dropping 
a number of kernels in each hill to allow for any 
failing to sprout; after the corn is up, these extra 
plants should be pulled out, leaving three plants 
in a hill. The extra early sorts may be planted in 
rows two and a half feet apart, and the hills 
eighteen inches apart. Plant the seed half an inch 
deep, and either tramp upon it or pat it down firmly 
with the hoe. Where the ground is not very heavily 
manured, a tablespoonful of phosphate may be 
placed in each hill with benefit. 

When the corn has attained three or more feet 
in height, it will be well to go through the rows 
and pull out all side shoots and those which will 
not set ear, allowing the entire strength of the 
plant to go to the making of corn. 

The green shoots removed makes excellent feed 
for the horse, cow, or pig, and is greatly relished 
by them. Corn is, of all garden vegetables, the most 
economical to grow, as there is absolutely no waste, 
such corn as may not be used for the table making 
the finest feed for the poultry in winter, especially 
for the fattening of cockerels, and the cornstalks, 

[119] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 

if cut before they are too dry, makes excellent fod- 
der for stock of any kind. 

Corn may be planted every two weeks, for a 
succession, until the middle of July. 

For early corn, one must plant the extra early 
varieties, such as the Cory, Golden Bantum, 
Aristocrat, or the Early Evergi^een, but for 
toothsome sweetness there is no corn to equal 
Stowell's Evergreen, and the later the season the 
sweeter and better it is. We are now — October 7th 
— eating Stowell's Evergreen that is far better and 
sweeter than the earlier planting of the same vari- 
ety, though we have had several sharp frosts — frosts 
that have bady cut the field corn; but the sweet 
corn, being somewhat protected by trees, has suf- 
fered little, if any, injury. 

Corn should be cultivated thoroughly and con- 
stantly as long as it is safe to work among it; this 
will admit of half a dozen cultivations each way 
at least, and at the end of this time the ground 
should be in the condition that few, if any, weeds 
will appear. 



[120] 



THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING CORN 
TO BOIL 

Corn for boiling should be perfectly fresh, as it 
loses its sweetness in a few hours, and must have 
sugar added to the water in which it is cooked to 
restore it. Remove the outer husks and strip back 
the inner, so that the silk may be removed; this 
should be very carefully done and the husks re- 
placed. Put in boiling water and boil for twenty 
minutes and serve hot, first removing the husks. 
The object of leaving the husks on is that the corn, 
cooked in this way, is much sweeter than when the 
husks are removed. 

CORN FRITTERS 

One pint of grated corn, one-half teacup milk, 
one-half teacup flour, one small teaspoonful baking 
powder, one tablespoonful melted butter, two eggs, 
and one teaspoonful salt, a little pepper. Form into 
cone-shaped balls, roll in beaten eggs and bread 
crumbs, and fry a delicate brown in deep lard. 

CORN SOUP 

Split the grains of one dozen ears of corn and 

scrape from the cob. Boil the cobs in enough water 

[121] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



to cover them for ten minutes. Strain this water 
and use one quart. Add to it slowly one quart of 
cream, then the corn. Season and cook fifteen 
minutes. Milk can be used instead of cream, thick- 
ened with one tablespoonful each of butter and 
flour rubbed together. Serve at once. 

EGG-PLANT 

This is one of the few vegetables requiring spe- 
cial care in cultivation. The seed should be started 
in a warm hotbed in April, and as soon as the 
plants are three inches high they should be potted 
off into small pots and plunged back into the soil 
of the beds. They may be transplanted into the 
open ground when the weather is quite settled and 
the soil and nights warm, or they may be repotted 
into larger pots and set out in the open ground 
the first of June. 

Egg-plants require a great deal of heat at the 
start, and if they receive a setback at this time, 
rarely recover, so that every effort should be made 
to keep them from being chilled, while at the same 
time giving them the necessary amount of ventila- 
tion. It is well in planting the seed of egg-plants 

[ 122] 



THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 



to reserve a portion in case the first sowing should 
fail and a later one need to be made. 

After the plants are of a size to be planted out 
there is little difference in the culture accorded 
them and that given other vegetables, but they 
should not be allowed to suffer for water, and a 
weekly dose of liquid manure after the plants 
bloom will be of benefit. 

When about a foot high, the earth should be 
drawn up about the stem in cultivating. The plants 
are often seriously injured by the potato-bug, which 
eats the stem of the blossom at the point where it 
curves over, seldom, to any extent, the leaves of the 
plant. Whenever the bug appears early in the 
season, the plants should be gone over daily to 
catch and destroy it, or they may be sprayed with 
Paris green, which at this stage will do no harm. 
The destruction of these first blossoms will make 
two or three weeks' difference in the maturing of 
the first crop and must be met energetically. These 
first bugs which aj^pear lay their eggs on the under- 
side of the leaves, and these must be looked for 
and destroyed and little subsequent trouble will be 
experienced. 

Curiously enough, for a plant which starts out 
[ 123] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 

in life so peculiarly sensitive to cold, the egg-plant 
is not hurt by light fall frost, and I have gathered 
and marketed very fair eggs long after the frost 
had destroyed tomatoes and other garden stuff. 

The first eggs are always the largest, the fruit 
growing smaller as the season advances; especially 
is this true when water and liquid manure is with- 
held. 

The best variety to raise is the Early Black 
Beauty or the Improved New York. 

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING EGG-PLANT 

The most common way of cooking egg-plant is 
to fry it, the plant being cut in thin slices, a 
quarter of an inch through, and laid in water to 
which a teaspoonful of salt has been added. Leave 
them in the water for half an hour, but do not take 
from the water until ready to cook, as their ex- 
posure to the air will cause them to turn black. 
Have ready a beaten egg and some sifted bread 
crumbs. Season the egg with pepper and salt; also 
slightly season the crumbs. Dip the slices in the 
crumbs, first wiping them dry with a cloth, and 

then in the beaten egg, and roll once more in the 

[ 124 ] 



THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 



crumbs; have ready a hot frying pan in which has 
been melted a tablespoonful of butter and fry a 
hght brown; they will fry in ten minutes. Serve 
hot. 

STUFFED EGG-PLANT 

Cut the egg-plant in two, scrape out all the in- 
side, and place it in a saucepan with a little minced 
ham; cover with water and boil until soft; drain 
off the water and add two tablespoonfuls of grated 
crumbs, a tablespoonful of butter, half a minced 
onion, salt, and pepper; stuff each half of the hull 
with this mixture; add a small lump of butter to 
each, and bake fifteen minutes. Minced veal or 
chicken is equally as good as ham, and many pre- 
fer it. 

Egg-plants may be eaten from the time they are 
the size of a teacup until they are full grown and 
the seeds begin to harden, but it is better to let the 
first fruits attain full size if possible. 

OKRA 

This vegetable is grown for the green pods which 
are used in soups, to which it imparts a rich gelat- 
inous quality, and are as easily grown as peppers, 

requiring about the same culture. The seed should 

[125] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



not be sown until the ground is warm — about the 
middle of May; it should be sown rather thickly in 
drills, three feet apart, sowing the seed an inch 
deep and thinning when large enough to stand ten 
inches apart in the rows. 

The pods must be used while young and tender, 
as when fully grown they are very tough, though 
they may still be used to flavour soups. 

Keep well hoed and free from weeds. 

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING OKRA 
OKRA SOUP 

Fry out the fat of a slice of bacon or fat ham, 
drain it off, and in it fry the slices of a large onion 
brown; scald, peel, and cut up two quarts fresh 
tomatoes (canned ones will do), and cut thin one 
quart of okra; put them together with a little 
chopped parsley, in a stew kettle with about two 
quarts of broth of any kind; cook slowly for three 
hours ; season with salt and pepper, and serve hot. 

OKRA AS A VEGETABLE 

Put the young and tender pods "of long, white 

okra in salted boiling water in granite, porcelain, 

or a tin-lined saucepan, as contact with iron will 

[ 126 ] 



THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 



blacken them; boil fifteen minutes, remove the 
stems, and serve with pepper, salt, butter, and, if 
preferred, vinegar. 

PEPPERS 

Are grown from seed started early in April in 
the hotbed or in flats in the house and planted out 
when all danger of frost is passed. They require 
rich, well-drained soil and a sunny situation. Where 
the supply of manure is limited, a spoonful of 
phosphate may be placed in each hill as the plants 
are set, and more be scattered about the plants and 
hoed or raked in unless the growth is satisfactory. 
Set out in rows two feet apart, setting the plants 
eighteen inches apart in the rows. 

The culture that will produce good corn, cab- 
bage, or tomatoes will be right for peppers, as they 
are of easy culture. Hen manure may be used with 
this plant, as it is one of the few plants which is 
not injured by the application of so strong a fer- 
tiliser. 

The plants come into bearing in July, and if the 
first peppers are removed while green, the succeed- 
ing fruits will come forward more rapidly than if 
the peppers are allowed to ripen. 

[127] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



Chinese Giant, Magnum Dulce, and Sweet 
Spanish Giant are the best of the large sweet pep- 
pers, the latter being a long pepper, from two to 
three inches wide and six to eight long ; this variety 
is rather more shapely for stuffed mangoes than 
the bull-nosed varieties. The large squat peppers 
are excellent for table use, being prepared in vari- 
ous ways. 

Several of the hot and pickle varieties of peppers 
are both useful and ornamental, the Celestial or 
Christmas variety being especially ornamental. 
These may be grown in pots on the kitchen win- 
dow and the fruit enjoyed throughout the winter. 
They are an attractive addition to pickled cauli- 
flowers, onions, and the like. 

The Tabasco is an especially beautiful pepper, 
bearing its fruit in sprays of brightest red, which 
are extremely fiery and pungent, and the seeds may 
be used for making pepper vinegar instead of 
the cayenne. 

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING PEPPERS 
FRIED PEPPERS 

Fried peppers form a most appetising dish and 

one which is a very satisfactory substitute for 
* [ 128 ] 



THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 



meat. Either the green or ripe peppers may be 
used, the flavour of the ripe fruit being somewhat 
the finer, and their appearance on the table very 
attractive. In preparing the fruit, it is only neces- 
sary to cut in two lengthwise and flatten, first re- 
moving all seeds, or to cut in rings and fry in hot 
butter or good drippings — that from bacon or ham 
being excellent. The cooking and preparation is so 
quickly accomplished that it may be prepared at a 
moment's notice. 

STUFFED PEPPERS 

Are prepared by cutting a slice off the stem end 
and removing the seeds and central core. The pep- 
pers are then stuffed with finely minced veal or 
other meat, mixed with a tablespoonful of bread 
crumbs and a spoonful of butter, and seasoned 
with salt and pepper. Replace the tops and bake in 
a pan to which a small quantity of water or beef 
stock has been added until the shells are tender. 

Another appetising dish is prepared by filling 
the cases with rice and Parmesan cheese; cooked 
rice is mixed with the grated cheese in the propor- 
tion of one cupful of rice to two tablespoonfuls of 

cheese and one of melted butter. When this has 

[129] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



been seasoned to taste with salt and paprika, the 
pepper cases, which have been cut in two length- 
wise and the seeds removed, are filled with the 
rice and placed in the oven, and covered for the 
first half hour, the cover being then removed until 
the rice is browned. 

Pepper cases are used for serving individual 
salads, and are especially handy for Russian salads 
and similar concotions. 

/ 

PICKLED PEPPERS 

Select firm, sound, green peppers, and add a 
few red ones, as they are ornamental and look well 
upon the table. With a sharp knife remove the top, 
take out the seeds, soak over night in salt water, 
then fill with shredded cabbage and chopped green 
tomatoes, one red pepper, seeds and all, and season 
with salt, mustard seed, and ground cloves. Sew 
on the top. Boil vinegar sufficient to cover them 
with a cup of brown sugar, and pour over the man- 
goes. Do this three mornings and seal. 

PEAS 

Sow peas as early as the ground can be worked 

in spring; old gardeners usually claim that they 

[130] 



THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 



like to have the last snow find their peas in the 
ground; certain it is that peas like a cool soil, and 
often fail to germinate when the weather and soil 
is warm. The dwarf varieties are usually preferred 
for the private garden, but will not bear as heavily 
as the taller sorts; but as these require brushing, 
the difference in labour is by many considered to 
more than offset their extra productiveness. Poul- 
try netting makes ideal support for the tall-grow- 
ing sorts, and if rolled up and stood in a dry place 
after the peas are gathered, will last a lifetime. 

The wrinkled varieties are far ahead in tender 
sweetness of the smooth varieties, but as they are 
not as hardy, they should be planted in well- 
drained, warm, sandy ground for the first planting. 

Peas may be planted for a succession every two 
weeks up to the middle of June, then should be 
discontinued until the middle of August, when sow- 
ings of the extra-early varieties may be made for 
a late crop. 

In planting, sow in double rows, six to eight 

inches apart, the rows from two to three feet apart. 

Plant the seed four inches deep and tread down 

the rows, going over the rows lightly with the 

lawn rake when all the seeds are in. This deep plant- 

[131] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



ing prevents mildew, and the seed is less apt to be 
disturbed by moles. 

American Wonder and Nott's Excelsior are of 
the best of the wrinkled peas, Nott's Excelsior 
being a rather freer bearer, owing to possessing 
more top. American Wonder is but one foot in 
height, and has not sufficient top to be a very 
profitable pea except for the home garden; but as 
peas are one of the few vegetables which may be 
grown in successive crops on the same ground, the 
plants may be pulled up as soon as through bear- 
ing and another planting of seeds made in the same 
place. 

Champion of England is an excellent late pea 
of the Avrinkled sort and of fine flavour ; it requires 
brushing or should be given wire-netting support. 

The main crop of peas, which are grown through 
the warmer months, may be planted to advantage 
on a heavier soil; they should be kept cultivated 
and free from weeds and the earth dra^\Ti up 
against the vines a couple of times before matur- 
ing. This is all the culture required, peas being one 
of the easiest vegetables to grow. 



[ 132] 



THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 



DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING PEAS 
It is customary with most cooks to cook peas in 
considerable water, and when done to turn off the 
surplus water and add butter, pepper, and salt. 
The flavour of the peas and the sweetness will be 
better retained, however, if only sufficient water to 
cook them is used, so that it may not be necessary 
to discard any of it. If the pods are washed very 
clean and are then cooked until tender and the 
water strained from them and used to cook the 
peas, all the sweetness and flavour will be retained. 
After cooking, add half a cup of cream, a lump of 
butter, and salt to taste. Salt should never be put 
to the peas until nearly or quite done, as it has a 
tendency to harden them. 

PEAS AS AN ENTREE 

Cut out with a cookie-cutter a round of bread 
from an ordinary slice of bread; cut two rings 
with a doughnut cutter; dip them in melted but- 
ter and toast them a delicate brown in the oven or 
fry daintily in deep fat, drying on a wire sieve; fill 
the cavities with tender young peas cooked in a 

delicate cream sauce. 

[133] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



Peas as an entree may also be served in cups 
made of boiled turnips, the turnips being first 
boiled whole and then removed from the fire, the 
centres scooped out, mashed, and served as a sepa- 
rate dish ; the peas, boiled and dressed with a white 
sauce, or simply with butter, pepper, salt, and 
cream, and dusted with bread crumbs and a bit of 
butter, being returned to the oven for a moment 
to heat and slightly brown. 

TOMATOES 

Start tomatoes by sowing seed in a hotbed in 
spring, or start them in flats in the house and plant 
them in the open ground when all danger of frost is 
passed. They require well-manured soil, and when 
there is a limited supply of fertiliser, it will be well 
to put two or three spadefuls in each hill, spread- 
ing it over a couple of square feet of surface, as the 
tomato makes considerable root growth. Plant in 
rows, four feet apart each way if no supjiort is to 
be given, three feet if the plants are to be grown 
on racks or trellises. There is a wire-tomato sup- 
port on the market that is admirable and quite 
within the reach of the small private garden. I am 

of the opinion, however, that tomatoes grown on 

[ 134 ] 




BUSH BEAN STARTED IX KITCHEN PRODUCT OF WINDOW GARDEN. 

WINDOW APRIL 10th PEACH TOMATOES, OCTOBER 13TH 



WHITE APPLE TOMATOES 



RED PEAR TOMATOES 



THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 



the ground produce more fruit than when grown 
on racks, for this reason: as soon as the plants 
have attained much size, they become recumbent, 
lying on the ground, and wherever a joint of a 
branch touches the ground, it immediately makes 
roots and so begins to draw nourishment from the 
soil, and is for this reason better able to produce 
an abundant crop than the plant grown upright 
on a frame with but one supporting root. 

Keep the plants well cultivated and free from 
weeds. As soon as the plant begins to blossom 
pinch off the ends of the shoots beyond the flowers 
that fruit may set early. This will materially hasten 
the ripening of the first fruit set. 

In the fall, at the approach of hard frost, the 
green tomatoes may be gathered and placed on 
racks in a warm, sunny position, where they will 
continue to ripen for some time, or the plants may 
be dug up, the roots wrapped in burlap, and hung 
in a warm, sunny place, where the fruit will ripen 
very well; I have kept them in the barn until No- 
vember in this way. Or use may be made of an 
empty hotbed, in which the green tomatoes are 
placed on racks or on a bed of straw, and so con- 
tinue to enjoy them far beyond their usual season. 

[135] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



For the private garden the Stone tomato is one 
of the very best, being smooth, round, large, 
and prolific, and exceptionally free from spot and 
with very little seed ; it is not as early a ripener, how- 
ever, as some of the varieties favoured by market 
gardeners. Sparks Earliana is an extra-early sort, 
and is more hardy in plant than the Stone, and a 
few plants of this variety may be set out to advance 
the season, using the Stone or other variety for the 
main crop. Dwarf varieties, like Dwarf Champion 
and Dwarf Stone are very desirable in gardens 
of limited space, as they may be planted in close 
rows or can be supported to a single small stake. 

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING TOMATOES 

The simplest and most popular way of serving 
tomatoes is raw, and there are one or two points 
which make for perfection in the process. In scald- 
ing the fruit for the removal of the skin, moderate- 
ly hot water should be avoided, as it is necessary to 
leave the fruit in it so long that the tomato be- 
comes warm. Boiling water, which will instantly 
remove or loosen the skin, should be used, and the 

fruit removed as quickly as possible. I have seen 

[136] 



THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 



cooks place a number of tomatoes in a pan, pour 
hot water over them, and proceed to peel them out 
of the water, leaving the .unpeeled ones soaking 
and warming until the last was reached. Tomatoes 
served raw should be brought to the table as firm 
and cold as possible. They should never be dressed 
before serving, but the various condiments passed 
that each person may season them to please their 
fancy. 

STEWED TOMATOES 

Peel and remove the seeds from fresh, ripe toma- 
toes (as many as required), cut into small pieces, 
and season with salt, pepper, and a piece of butter ; 
stew until done, and, before taking from the fire, 
add bread cnmibs sufficient to thicken slightly, add 
a dash of cayenne, and let boil up once. Serve hot. 

STEWED TOMATOES WITH ONIONS 

Peel and slice three or four onions and place in 
the frying pan with a little butter or good drip- 
ping ; cover and cook until tender ; have ready some 
peeled and sliced tomatoes, add to the onions, and 
cook until done; season with butter, pepper, and 

salt. 

[137] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



STUFFED TOMATOES 

Scald and peel as many tomatoes as required; 
cut a small piece from the top of each and remove 
the seeds; fill the cavity thus formed v^^ith well- 
seasoned bread crumbs ; place a small piece of but- 
ter on the top of each and bake until brown. A 
little water should be placed in the pan to prevent 
the tomatoes burning or sticking to the dish. 

SCALLOPED TOMATOES 

Peel and slice ripe tomatoes; place a layer in a 
baking-dish and cover with bread or cracker 
crumbs, a dash of pepper and salt, and bits of 
butter; add another layer of tomatoes and bread 
crumbs and continue with alternate layers of to- 
matoes, crumbs, and seasoning until the dish is 
full, the last layer being of the crumbs, with a 
liberal sprinkling of butter. Bake one hour. 

MACARONI WITH TOMATOES 

Break one half pound of macaroni into short 

pieces and boil in salted water until tender; take 

from the water and blanch by turning cold water 

over it; return to the stew-pan and add one half 

[138] 



THE GROWING OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES 



cupful of sweet cream, one third of a cupful of but- 
ter, pepper, and salt; let simmer for a short time; 
have ready in another stew-pan one pint of stewed 
tomatoes; add the macaroni and serve hot in a cov- 
ered dish. 

TOMATO SOUP 

Place over the fire a quart of peeled tomatoes, 
add a pinch of soda, and stew them soft. Strain to 
remove the seeds. Set it over the fire again and add 
a quart of hot, boiled milk, or a pint of cream and 
one of milk; season with salt and pepper, a piece 
of butter the size of an egg, and three tablespoon- 
fuls of rolled crackers, and serve hot. Canned to- 
matoes may be used instead of fresh ones. 

TRIED GREEN TOMATOES 

These may be prepared in a number of ways : by 
slicing and laying in salt and water until some of 
the water is drawn from them and then dipping in 
flour and frying in hot drippings until tender; by 
covering with boiling water and set on the back 
of the range, where they will keep hot, but not 
boil, until yellow, then drained, dipped in flour, and 
fried. They are also excellent fried with onions, 

[139] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



but as the onions take much longer to cook than the 
tomatoes, they should be put on the fire in advance 
of the tomatoes until partially cooked, when the 
sliced tomatoes should be added, and both cooked 
until a delicate brown. Tomatoes are almost equal 
to egg-plant when nicely cooked, and should be 
more generally used, as green tomatoes are one 
of the most plentiful vegetables in the market. 



[140] 



CHAPTER TEN 
ROOT VEGETABLES 



fXOOT vegetables form an important part of the 
garden's supply, and differ somewhat from those 
vegetables which produce heads, pods, or edible 
foliage in that they, as a general thing, mature 
later, some of the varieties, like parsnips and sal- 
sify, remaining in the earth until the following 
spring, when they are at their best. Others, like 
the beet and radish, are among the earliest available 
vegetables for the table — radishes being ready to 
use in from three to four weeks after sowing and 
beets for greens in a little longer time. The prepa- 
ration of the ground for root crops should be deep 
and thorough, and ploughing is preferable to spad- 
ing. All weed roots which are not thoroughly 
buried by the plough and show above ground after 
dragging should be pulled out by hand and con- 
signed to the compost heap. The ground should 

be disc-harrowed, dragged, and raked to as fine a 

[141] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



condition as possible. I like to have the ground lie a 
few days after being prepared before planting, 
in order that it may settle somewhat, and if a rain 
follows the preparation, all the better. Land moist 
from rain will not need to be tramped down over 
the seed, as will be absolutely necessary in the case 
of dry soil. 

As a general thing, root crops should not succeed 
each other, but be rotated with vine or leaf crops. 
Root crops leave nothing in the soil and take 
largely from it. Vines and other forms of vege- 
tables leave a large proportion of the growth to be 
returned to the soil, and are, for this reason, less 
exhaustive of fertility. Of course this is not of as 
much moment on the limited area of the kitchen 
garden, whose fertility is easily maintained by the 
application of animal fertilisers and the humus 
from a compost heap, which the debris of a town 
lot will maintain, but, in acreage planting, it is of 
great importance. 

BEETS 

Sow beet seeds as early in the spring as the ground 
may be worked up fine and mellow. Light, well- 
enriched soil suits them best. The seed should be 

[142] 



ROOT VEGETABLES 



sown in drills, one foot apart, sowing the seed an 
inch deep and treading down the rows. When the 
plants are large enough, thin out to stand four to 
six inches apart in the rows; keep them free from 
weeds and the soil soft and mellow by frequent cul- 
tivation. If wanted for greens, sowings of seed may 
be made every two weeks up to the middle of Au- 
gust, or, if but an early crop of greens is wished, the 
ground may be used for late peas when the beets 
are out of the way. 

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING BEETS 
BEET GREENS 

For this delicious dish of greens the young beets 
are used from a half-inch in diameter up to an inch 
or a little larger. They should be perfectly fresh, 
and in dressing them, about three inches of the 
top should be left on. Boil in salted water until 
tender, and dress with butter, pepper and salt, and 
serve hot, passing the vinegar with them. 

BAKED BEETS 

Baked beets retain their sugary, delicate flavour 

if they are baked instead of boiled. Turn them fre- 

[ 143] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



quently while in the oven, using a knife or wooden 
spoon as the puncture made by a fork allows the 
juice to run out. When done, remove the skin and 
serve with butter, salt, and pepper. 

BOILED BEETS 

Select small-sized, smooth roots. They should be 
carefully washed, but not cut before boiling, as the 
juice will escape and the sweetness of the vegetable 
be impaired, leaving it hard and white. Put them 
into boiling water and boil until tender, which re- 
quires from one to two hours, even longer in win- 
ter. Do not probe them, but press with the finger 
to ascertain if sufficiently done. When done, take 
them up and place in a pan of cold water, and slip 
off the outside. Cut them in thin slices and season 
with salt, pepper, butter, and, if preferred, a little 
sharp vinegar, or pass the vinegar with them. 

STEWED BEETS 

Boil the beets, then scrape and slice them. Put 

them in a stew-pan, with a piece of butter rolled in 

flour, some boiled onion and parsley, chopped fine, 

and a little vinegar, salt, and pepper. Set the pan 

on the fire and stew for half an hour. 

[ 144] 



ROOT VEGETABLES 



The vinegar may be omitted and served at the 
table if preferred. 

CARROTS 

Are one of the economic vegetables, being not only 
exceedingly wholesome and toothsome, but, like the 
sweet corn, possess the advantage of being edible 
in root and top, the green tops being much relished 
by cows and horses, and the peelings and any sur- 
plus roots forming a most valuable addition to the 
winter ration of horse and cow. The juice of the yel- 
low carrot, when expressed by grating the raw root 
and pressing the juice through a cloth, makes an 
excellent and harmless colour for butter, giving it 
the much-prized golden tint of early grass butter 
in the spring. 

A good story is told of a mother who took an 
anemic daughter to a famous physician noted for 
his bluffness and brevity. A brief inspection, a 
briefer " claret," and a wave of the hand dis- 
missed patient and subject. A month or six weeks 
later the mother returned accompanied by a bloom- 
ing daughter, and at the physician's nod of ap- 
proval, the mother, becoming loquacious, explained 

that she " gave them to her three times a day cooked 

[145] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



and raw." "Raw!" exclaimed the physician in 
amazement. When it transpired that his brief di- 
rections of claret had been understood as carrots, 
and they had been liberally supplied with the re- 
sult of perfect recovery, whether through the me- 
dium of faith or the medicinal qualities of the vege- 
table, remained a matter of individual experiment, 
but it is an item in favour of the carrots that they 
are of no uncertain tonic value to animals. 

To grow carrots in perfection requires a rich, 
deep, sandy loam, thoroughly prepared and deeply 
cultivated. For an early crop, the seed should be 
sown in April or May in drills, one foot to fifteen 
inches apart, scattering the seeds as thinly and 
evenly in the rows as possible and tramping them 
down. For a late crop, the seed may be sown as 
late as July 1st. As soon as the plants are large 
enough, they should be thinned to stand four 
inches apart in the rows and must be kept clear of 
weeds and well cultivated. A little nitrate of soda 
drilled into the soil along the rows will greatly 
hasten the growth, or the nitrate may be applied 
with a watering pot by dissolving it in water. 
Phosphate worked into the rows before sowing the 
seed is a help to rapid growth when the animal 

[146] 



J 



ROOT VEGETABLES 



fertiliser is limited, but is not necessary in well-fer- 
tilised land. For table use, the varieties known as 
bunching carrots, of which the yellow Danvers In- 
termediate is the best, should be selected. These are 
a very smooth, attractive sort, and, if well culti- 
vated and thinned sufficiently, will grow to large 
size and prove profitable for stock as well as for 
the table, as even when large they are never coarse. 

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING CARROTS 

The simplest and best-liked method of cooking 
carrots is to peel or scrape till perfectly clean, then 
cut in dice, and cook until tender in salted water; 
remove from the fire, drain, and return to the fire, 
adding sufficient sweet cream to cover, a table- 
spoonful of butter, and salt and pepper to taste. 
Or, two tablespoonfuls of butter rolled in flour, 
add enough cream to cover and allow them to come 
to a boil, and serve hot. 

Carrots are also served mashed like potatoes, in 

which case they are cooked whole and mashed with 

a piece of butter, salt and pepper, and piled in a 

heap on a platter and served very hot. 

A dehcious substitute for plum pudding is made 
[147] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



from a cupful of mashed carrots, one cupful of 
mashed potatoes, one cupful of flour, one cupful of 
suet chopped fine, one cupful of molasses, one cup- 
ful of currants, and one cupful of raisins. Boil in 
a pudding-bag, allowing room for it to swell, three 
hours, and serve with a creamed or hard sauce as 
preferred. 

As a vegetable ingredient to consomme the 
carrot is invaluable, and it forms an important in- 
gredient in beef-ragouts. To prepare the latter, se- 
cure a tender, juicy-stewing piece of beef having 
some fat attached. Cut in squares two or three 
inches in diameter and place in the skillet, with a 
little butter or dripping, and fry to a good brown; 
remove from the pan, and to the butter add a 
tablespoonf ul of flour ; cook a few moments and add 
two cupfuls of warm water, several medium or small 
onions whole, or large onions sliced, two or more 
carrots sliced crosswise, and sufficient potatoes for 
the meal; add the meat and cook until done, and 
serve very hot on a large platter. 

If the meat is likely to take longer to cook than 

the vegetables, return it to the pan or kettle and 

cook until partly done, when the vegetables may 

be added. 

[148] 



ROOT VEGETABLES 



If the amount is large it will be better, after 
browning the meat and preparing the gravy, to 
place the whole in an iron or granite pot to cook. 
When this is done, the pot should be made hot 
before adding the ragout. This is a delicious and 
appetising dish for those who Hke a boiled dinner. 
The addition of a head of celery, cut into inch 
lengths, much improves the flavour, or a small 
quantity of celery seed may be substituted for the 
celery when the latter is not in season. 

ONIONS 

The most practical manner of growing onions in 
the kitchen garden is by the use of sets, which may 
be set out early in spring in shallow drills twelve 
inches apart and the sets four inches apart in the 
drills. The ground must be deeply dug and thor- 
oughly pulverised, and when the onions are up so 
they can be seen, hand weeding through the rows 
will be necessary. The hand-cultivator may be used 
to keep the space between the rows free from 
weeds. 

Care must be taken not to allow the mature 
onions to form seed, as this will render them unfit 
for food, the seed stalk forming a woody centre 

[149] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



in the onion, which resists all efforts to cook ten- 
der. By watching the plants and breaking off all 
blossom stalks as they form, the onions will remain 
fit for use when stored for the winter. 

There are no onions, however, so tender and 
delicate for table use as those grown from seed, 
which may be sown in the open ground early in 
March or April and thinned out to stand three or 
four inches apart in the rows. Or they may at first 
be thinned to stand from one to two inches apart, 
and as soon as large enough for the table, use as 
young, green onions; every other onion may be re- 
moved, allowing the remainder to mature for win- 
ter use. 

A method of culture we have found very satis- 
factory is to sow seed in drills in August in very 
finely prepared ground, which must be kept well 
cultivated and free of weeds. A mulch of straw 
or other coarse litter as protection during winter 
should be given after the setting in of cold weather, 
and this should be removed in spring. Seed sown 
at that season gives an abundance of early onions 
of the tenderest and best quality, and the entire 
crop may be gathered in time for another sowing 

of seed in the following August. Onions succeed 

[150] 



ROOT VEGETABLES 



well when grown year after year on the same 
ground, and when the bed is well cared for one or 
two years, it gets in excellent tilth and is easily 
kept free from weeds. 

By sowing onion seed in frames and transplant- 
ing in April, onions of immense size may be pro- 
duced, and the labour is not much greater than 
that required by planting in the open ground, thin- 
ning, and giving the necessary preliminary weed- 
ing. In setting the young onions, which are very 
small and tender, a shallow trench is dug and the 
plants laid against the side of it at intervals of four 
inches, the earth being then filled in and pressed 
down against them with the hoe. For this form of 
onion culture, the Prizetaker type of onion is the 
best. This onion compares very favourably with the 
Bermuda onion, being of a pale yellow colour, white 
flesh, mild flavour, and immense size. 

For general family use there is no onion to com- 
pare with the White Portugal or Silver Skin, 
while for pickling, the white B arietta is an exceed- 
ingly satisfactory sort. One ounce of seed will plant 
one hundred feet of drill. 



[151] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING ONIONS 

May seem superfluous to the experienced cook, 
but there are occasional j)oints which may be new 
even to an old and experienced housekeeper; it 
may not be generally known, for instance, that 
cooking fried onions in milk before frying them 
renders them far more appetising and delicate. 
This is an operation that must be undertaken with 
a light hand and quick eye, as onions cooked in 
milk burn very easily. 

In preparing onions for this manner of frying, 
they are first peeled and sliced as in ordinary fry- 
ing and then placed in the saute-pan with enough 
water to cover, and cooked for a few moments, 
when the water should be turned off and replaced 
with an equal amount of milk and allowed to cook 
till tender, when they are drained from the milk 
and fried a delicate brown in hot butter. 

STUFFED SPANISH ONIONS 

These are a delicate and tasty form of serving this 
odourous vegetable. To prepare, use the large Ber- 
muda or Prizetaker onions. Peel the onions and 

scoop out from the top a portion of the centre. 

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Parboil five minutes and turn upside down to drain. 
Make a stuffing of the chopped onion taken from 
the centres, softened bread crumbs, salt, pepper, 
and a generous amount of butter. Fill the onions 
heaping full and sprinkle the top with buttered 
crumbs. Cover and cook till tender (about an 
hour) in a pan containing a small quantity of 
water. Let them brown a very little before taking 
from the oven. 

PARSNIPS 

Which so welcomely supplement the late winter or 
early spring bill of fare, are one of the easily raised 
root vegetables, requiring little room for culture 
and yielding bountifully for the space and time 
devoted to them. Like the carrot, they are an orna- 
mental feature of the garden and may be grown to 
edge rows or beds of other vegetables if desired; 
they should occupy a prominent position in the 
garden, as their growth is lower than most other 
garden crops, and the beauty of the fern-like leaves 
makes them attractive at all times. They have not 
the bright colour of the parsnip, being much darker 
in foliage, but they offset that vegetable and con- 
trast beautifully with the red foliage of the beets, 

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They are one of the earHest vegetables to be 
started in spring, and so are out of the way before 
the main crops must be gotten into the ground, 
which is a distinct advantage. The seed should be 
sown in drills, like the carrot, making the drills a 
little farther apart — about fifteen inches — and 
dropping the seed as evenly and sparsely in the 
rows as possible. The seed should be planted about 
one-half of an inch deep and the earth pressed down 
above it. The soil should be rich and deep and the 
after cultivation thorough and constant. As soon 
as the seed has germinated and the little plants 
large enough to distinguish, all weeds should be 
removed from between and each side of the rows, 
the cultivator taking care of those between the 
rows. When the plants are three or four inches 
high, thin out to stand six inches apart in the row. 
The plants pulled up may be used to plant addi- 
tional rows or to fill in any vacant places in the 
present rows. 

While the quality of the roots are much im- 
proved by leaving in the ground over winter, 
enough for immediate use may be stored in damp 
sand or earth in the cellar, or they may be dug and 

piled in pits in the ground and covered with a 

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ROOT VEGETABLES 



mound of earth and boards to shed rain, but the 
cellar will be found more convenient, as in case of 
severe weather it will be found almost as difficult 
to get into the heaps as to dig the roots from the 
open ground. 

The best variety to plant is the Large Sugar or 
Hollow Crown, and one ounce of seed will plant 
one hundred feet of drill. 

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING PARSNIPS 
BOILED PARSNIPS 

Wash, scrape, and split them. Put them in a pot 
of boiling water; add a little salt and boil till quite 
tender, which will be in from two or three hours, 
according to their size. Dry them in a cloth when 
done and pour melted butter or white sauce over 
them in the dish. Serve them with any sort of 
boiled meat or with salt codfish. 

Parsnips are very good baked or stewed with 
meat. 

FRIED PARSNIPS 

Boil tender in salted water ; scrape, cut into long 
slices, dredge with flour; fry in hot lard or drip- 
pings, or in butter and lard mixed, until quite 

brown. Drain on a wire sieve and serve. 

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STEWED PARSNIPS 

After washing and scraping the parsnips, cut 
into shces about half an inch thick. Put them in a 
saucepan of boihng water containing just enough 
to barely cover them; add a tablespoonful of but- 
ter, pepper and salt, and cover closely. Cook them 
until the water has cooked away, watching care- 
fully and stirring often to prevent burning, until 
they are soft. When they are done, they will be of 
a creamy, light straw-colour and deliciously sweet, 
retaining all the goodness of the vegetable. 

PARSNIP FRITTERS 

Boil four or five parsnips ; when tender, take off 
the skins and mash them fine; add to them a tea- 
spoonful of wheat flour and a beaten egg; put a 
tablespoonful of lard or beef drippings in a frying- 
pan over the fire, add to it a saltspoonful of salt. 
When boiling hot, put in the parsnips which have 
been moulded into small cakes with a spoon; when 
one side is a delicate brown, turn the other; when 
both sides are done, put them on a dish, and a very 
little of the fat in which they were fried poured 
over them, and serve hot. These resemble very 

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closely the taste of the salsify or vegetable oyster, 
and by many will be preferred. 

Or the parsnips, flour, and egg may be shaped 
in the hands into small cones and fried to a deli- 
cate brown in hot fat. Dipping first in beaten egg 
and then in fine bread crumbs will make a more 
elaborate and attractive dish. 

POTATOES 

There is probably no crop grown that the hus- 
bandman approaches with so little hesitation as the 
potato. But that this confidence is often misplaced 
is evidenced by the mass of poor and even unsightly 
potatoes which crowd our markets. It is not an un- 
common practice to devote the refuse of the po- 
tato bins to the spring planting; yet no vegetable 
is more susceptible of improvement by judicious 
selection of seed than the potato. The selection of 
seed potatoes should be made, not the last thing 
before planting, but at the time of the gathering 
of the crop in the fall, providing, of course, that 
one wishes to grow the same kind of potatoes a 
second year and that the quality of the present 
crop justifies the selection of potatoes for seed 
therefrom. 

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In selecting potatoes from seed, the choice 
should be from those hills which have produced 
best, both as to size of tubers and the number of 
tubers in a hill rather than from the finest potatoes, 
both as to size and symmetry. In the former selec- 
tion you get pedigree and precedent and may an- 
ticipate a perpetuation of the good qualities in the 
succeeding year's crop. All scabby or misshapen 
tubers should be rejected, nor should seed be used 
from a crop that has given scabby tubers, though 
the tubers selected may be free from this defect. 
Where scabby tubers exist, the cause should be dis- 
tinctly recognised, whether the fault is in the seed, 
in the soil, or in the presence of too green manure. 
Potatoes should not be planted on land newly fer- 
tilised with fresh manure. Where the land has had 
many successive croppings and must be manured 
heavily in order to restore sufficient fertility for 
the production of a crop, the fertilising should be 
done the preceding autumn, or, if that is impos- 
sible, as early in the spring as possible — February 
being far better than March. Preferably the manur- 
ing should precede fall ploughing. Sod land is best 
for the growing of potatoes, and if this has been 

manured the previous fall, it should be in good con- 

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ROOT VEGETABLES 



dition for growing a good crop of smooth potatoes. 
Do not plant potatoes on land which produced 
scabby the previous year. 

Early potatoes may be planted as soon as the 
ground can be put in condition in the spring, but 
for the main or winter crop, late planting is usu- 
ally more satisfactory. For one thing, these later- 
planted potatoes are less troubled with the potato 
beetle and fewer cultivations are required to keep 
down the weeds. No one should undertake the 
growing of potatoes unless they have sufficient 
energy to keep down the weeds, as they require 
little hand work, and one or two hoeings will 
fit them for work with horse or hand-cultivator. 
Potatoes should never be banked or hilled up 
at the beginning of the season; when this is 
done at the start, it is practicably impossible to 
keep control of the weeds. It is better to cultivate 
on the level, either planting far enough apart in 
the rows to allow of running the cultivator each 
way, or they may be planted in rows three feet 
apart and a foot apart in the rows, and covering 
from three to four inches deep according to the 
nature of the soil; three inches if the soil is heavy 
and cold, but four inches in light, sandy soil. 

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Phosphates are very valuable fertilisers for po- 
tatoes and produce very much smoother tubers 
than where it is not applied. The most economical 
method of using is to scatter a tablespoonful in 
each hill, distributing it over a foot or two of sur- 
face. Flower of sulphur in the hills will entirely 
prevent the presence of scab in the potatoes and is 
a more satisfactory method than the previous treat- 
ment of the seed by corrosive sublimate, formalde- 
hyde, or other poisons. 

In the case of the potato beetle and its ravages, 
one should use the ounce of prevention and watch 
for the first appearance of the mature beetle and 
its eggs. Where there is but a small planting of 
potatoes, it will be practicable to handpick the vine, 
killing all bugs and removing all eggs, which will 
be found, a yellow mass, on the underside of the 
leaves. If these are entirely removed at their first 
appearance, little further trouble will be experi- 
enced, unless a careless neighbour also grows po- 
tatoes, in which case one's best efforts may prove 
abortive. 

Once the beetles have gained a footing, the only 

remedy is Paris green, either as a dust, mixed with 

plaster in the proportion of a teaspoonful of the 

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ROOT VEGETABLES 



poison to a quart of lime, sifted from a sifting-box 
with quite small holes, over the plants when wet 
with dew or rain, or with a solution of the poison — 
about a teaspoonful to three gallons of water. 
This may be used by means of a brush-broom 
dipped in the solution and shaken over the plants 
or by means of a spraying pump ; in the latter case 
a much stronger solution may be used, as the spray 
is so fine a very small quantity of liquid is de- 
posited. Should rain follow the spraying, it will be 
necessary to repeat as soon as the weather clears. 

Potatoes should be dug as soon as the tubers are 
ripe and the tops dead. Left in the ground, espe- 
cially in wet weather, they are liable to start new 
growth, which injures them. Late potatoes, how- 
ever, may be left longer, but must be dug before 
the ground freezes. A bright day is best for dig- 
ging the tubers, and if possible the ground should 
be dry in order that the earth may not adhere to 
the tubers and so that they may be picked up and 
stored as soon as possible after digging. Potatoes 
should not be allowed to lie uncovered, as this 
turns them green, but should be covered with any- 
thing available — old carpets, sacking, straw, or 
fodder — anything which will exclude light. 

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There are many excellent varieties of potatoes, 
but it must be remembered that there is as great 
a difference in the flavour of potatoes as any other 
vegetable, and what may be entirely acceptable 
and palatable to one may prove very unsatisfactory 
to another, but it is universally agreed that a mealy, 
white-fleshed potato is the ideal one. A potato free 
from black spots and hollows, and one which will 
keep well into the following spring, is also desirable. 
For these last qualities there is probably no better 
potato grown than the Adirondack, it keeping well 
until the middle of June and cooking mealy and white 
up to planting time. It is exceptionally free from 
spot or blemish, but, unfortunately, is sadly lack- 
ing in flavour, being especially unsatisfactory when 
fried. It is a profitable potato to grow for market, 
however, as its excellent keej^ing quality makes it a 
favourite of the dealers. Vick's Perfection and Car- 
men No. 2 have given excellent satisfaction in my 
garden, the flesh being white, mealy, and of most 
excellent flavour. Early Rose and Early Ohio are 
both excellent potatoes for the market or home 
garden, and there are many other good varieties, 
each locality having its favourite. When in doubt 

as to which variety to plant, it will be well to pro- 

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ROOT VEGETABLES 



cure a peck of two or more kinds and test them by 
cooking in several different ways. 

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING POTATOES 

It may seem superfluous to give recipes for cooking 
so staple an article of food as the potato ; yet it must 
be conceded that their appetising and tasteful 
preparation is by no means universal. Even a good 
boiled potato — its simplest form — is rare, and fried 
potatoes, at their best, are conspicuous by their ab- 
sence. It may not be a matter of general informa- 
tion that in the spring, when the quality of pota- 
toes has deteriorated, they are liable to show dark 
spots at the eyes when boiled. This may be pre- 
vented by the addition of a cupful of milk to the 
water in which they are boiled. 

THE PERFECT FRIED POTATO 

The frying and serving of potatoes is quite as 
particular an operation as serving baked potatoes, 
which all know must be eaten the moment they are 
done. Fried potatoes should never go on the fire 
until within a few moments of the time of serving 
a meal. Never set them on the back of the range 
until time to cook them, letting them slowly dry 

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up until the outsides are hard and tough. Rather 
should they be cut in dice or sliced as preferred, 
and the frying-pan placed on the stove until hot, 
when sufficient butter or drippings for frying, to- 
gether with salt and pepper to taste, should be put 
in and allowed to get hot, when the potatoes should 
be added and cooked a good brown as quickly as 
possible. Cooked in this way, they will be crisp, but 
not hard and tough, and should be served imme- 
diately on a hot dish. 

To have the fried potato at its best, one should 
boil medium-sized, new potatoes and remove them 
from the water as soon as done, allowing the steam 
to pass off, so that they may be dry and mealy, 
when they should be cut in dice and fried at once 
in hot butter or drippings. They should not be al- 
lowed to grow cold between the operation of boil- 
ing and frying and should be served at once on hot 
dishes. 

POTATO SOUFFLE 

This makes an excellent lunch or supper dish 
and is suitable for company teas. To two cupfuls 
of cold mashed potatoes add half a cupful of milk, 
a pinch of salt, a tablespoonful of butter, two table- 
spoonfuls of flour, and two eggs, beaten to a froth. 

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ROOT VEGETABLES 



Mix the whole until thoroughly light; put into a 
baking-dish, spread a little butter over the top, and 
bake a golden brown. The quality depends upon 
very thoroughly beating the eggs, so that the po- 
tato will remain light, like sponge cake. 

POTATO PUFFS 

Prepare the potatoes as for souffle. While hot, 
shape in balls about the size of an egg; have a tin 
sheet well buttered and place the balls on it. As 
soon as all are done, brush over with beaten egg; 
brown in the oven. When done, slip a knife under 
them and slide upon a hot platter. Garnish with 
parsley and serve immediately. 

LYONNAISE POTATOES 

Place in a frying-pan one onion sliced fine and 
a tablespoonful of butter and a tablespoonful of 
finely cut parsley. Cook until the onion is tender. 
Remove the onion and add the potatoes, which 
should have previously been prepared by cutting 
into dice. Cover the pan and allow the potatoes to 
heat through but not cook or brovra. 

Remove the lid and add a teacupful, or less, of 
cream and allow it to boil up but not cook, and 

[165] 



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serve at once in a hot baker or tureen. The secret 
of success with creamed potatoes is not to allow 
them to cook in the cream. 

SCALLOPED POTATOES 

Slice raw potatoes and lay in water till ready to 
use. Place a slice of salt pork in the bottom of a 
baking-dish. Wipe the potatoes dry and place a layer 
over the pork; season with salt and pepper and 
continue to add potatoes and seasoning in alter- 
nate layers until the dish is full. Cover the top with 
slices of very thin salt pork and place in the oven 
and bake until the potatoes are done. Cold boiled 
potatoes may be substituted if desired, and require 
less time to cook. 

SCALLOPED POTATOES (KENTUCKY STYLE) 

Peel and slice raw potatoes thin, the same as for 
frying. Butter an earthen dish, put in a layer of 
potatoes and season with salt, pepper, butter, and 
a bit of onion, chopped fine (if liked) . Sprinkle over 
a little flour. Now put another layer of potatoes 
and seasoning and continue placing alternate lay- 
ers of potatoes and seasoning until the dish is full. 
Just before placing in the oven pour over from a 

[166] 



ROOT VEGETABLES 



pint to a quart of hot milk (according to the quan- 
tity of potatoes used). Bake three-quarters of an 
hour. Cold boiled potatoes may be used instead of 
raw if preferred. 

FRENCH-FRIED POTATOES 

Peel and slice in sections, as apples are cut for 
pies, laying them in water until needed. Heat a 
small shallow kettle of lard to the smoking point, 
but be careful that it does not scorch. Dry the po- 
tatoes thoroughly and drop in the hot lard until 
a delicate brown. They should puff up very light 
and plump. Remove from the fire and drain on 
brown wrapping paper before a bright fire. Sprin- 
kle lightly with salt and if that flavour is preferred 
a little celery-salt also and serve at once on a hot 
dish. These are delicious and entirely suitable for 
company at breakfasts, lunches, or teas. 

POTATO CROQUETS 

Take two cupfuls of cold mashed potatoes, season 
with a pinch of salt, pepper, and a tablespoonful of 
butter (also a pinch of celery-salt, if liked). Beat 
up the whites of two eggs and work all together 

[167] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



thoroughly; make into small balls about the size 
of walnuts ; dip in the beaten yolks of eggs ( which 
should be seasoned with salt and pepper) and roll 
in fine cracker or bread crumbs. Fry in deep fat 
until a delicate brown and drain on a wire sieve and 
serve very hot on a folded napkin laid on a hot 
dish. 

POTATO FILLETS 

Pare and slice the potatoes thin; cut them in 
long strips or fillets about a quarter of an inch 
square and as long as the potatoes will admit. Keep 
them in cold water until wanted, then wipe dry 
and drop into deep lard at the smoking point, and 
cook until a fine, delicate brown. Some cooks re- 
move them from the fat and drain when partly 
done, allowing the fat to heat up again when the 
potatoes are returned to the fat and fried until 
done, but if the potatoes are wiped dry and the 
lard at the proper temperature and a hot fire under 
the kettle, this is seldom necessary. Drain before a 
hot fire on a wire sieve or brown wrapping paper, 
sprinkle with salt, and, if liked, a very little dust 
of celery-salt, and serve on a hot dish. 

Saratoga, string, and similar potatoes are pre- 
pared in the same way, the only difference being 

[168] 



ROOT VEGETABLES 



in the manner of cutting and the fact that Sara- 
toga and similar thin potatoes are equally good 
cold and may be prepared in quantities and kept 
in a dry place to be used as needed. If wished warm, 
a few moments in a hot oven will render them very 
palatable. 

RADISHES 

Require a light, rich soil in a warai position, where 
quick growth may be made, as upon this depends 
the tender crispness which makes this vegetable so 
.toothsome. Pure sand, well enriched with phos- 
phates, will grow exceedingly fine radishes, and 
after the plants are up a little, nitrate of soda, ap- 
plied along the rows, will much hasten their growth. 
Nitrate is of so quick action that it should not be 
applied until the plants are up and growing; then 
it is a most valuable fertiliser and stimulant. 

For very early use, the seed may be sown in hot- 
beds or in window frames and a second crop sown 
in the open ground, in a sunny, sheltered position, 
in April. 

The seed may be sown at intervals of two or 
three weeks up to the first of September. Sow in 
thoroughly prepared ground in shallow drills ten 
inches apart and thin to stand two inches apart in 

[169] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



the rows. Where vines are planted along the fence, 
the intervening space may be planted to radishes, 
and I have found it a good plan to keep a packet of 
seed handy, and drop a seed wherever a radish is 
pulled; in this way there is a perpetual supply of 
the freshest and most tender of roots. 

The ground should be kept free of weeds and 
well cultivated. It will be necessary to use the 
trowel here to break up the soil about the radishes, 
using the small hand-cultivator along the sides of 
the rows, or when grown along the fence, all the 
work may be easily done by means of the trowel. 
The early three weeks' radishes — such as French 
Breakfast — are the most desirable to plant, and the 
oval scarlet, tipped with white, the most attractive 
form on the table. In preparing them for the table, 
the small leaves should be retained, as they add 
much to the appearance of the radish and are an 
altogether attractive and artistic addition to the 
breakfast or luncheon table. 

In planting melons in hills, if the land is very 

rich, a row of radishes may be j)lanted around the 

outer edge of the hills, and will have matured and 

been used before the room is needed by the melons ; 

in fact radishes are one of the few vegetables which 

[170] 



ROOT VEGETABLES 



may be stuck in wherever the soil is rich and the 
space is not needed for other crops. 

SALSIFY OR VEGETABLE OYSTER 

Salsify requires the same culture as carrots and 
parsnips. Sow early in spring in drills fifteen 
inches apart, scattering the seed an inch deep and 
treading down the rows. Thin to stand four to six 
inches apart in the rows and keep clear of weeds 
and the soil well worked and mellow. Salsify may 
be used in the fall or left in the ground over win- 
ter, being used early in spring, when it first ap- 
pears in market. A supply for the winter may be 
dug and kept in boxes of moist earth or sand in 
the cellar if desired. When left in the ground, it 
should be dug before growth begins in the spring. 
It succeeds best in a light, mellow soil. The Mam- 
moth Sandwich Island is the best variety to grow, 
Long White is also a good variety. 

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING SALSIFY 

The most common method of cooking salsify is 
in soup, for which purpose the roots are washed, 
scraped, and cut into slices a quarter of an inch 

[171] 



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thick. Put to cook in two quarts of water. When 
cooked tender, add to the water a lump of butter 
the size of an egg, salt and pepper to taste, a cup- 
ful of rich cream, and half a cupful of cracker 
crumbs ; serve hot. The quantity of water and num- 
ber of salsifj'' roots will depend, of course, on the 
amount of soup required, and the amount of season- 
ing and other additions will be decided by the quan- 
tity of soup. In cooking salsify in any manner, it 
must be remembered that exposure to the air causes 
it to turn very dark, so that the roots should be kept 
in water until ready to cook. 

FRIED SALSIFY 

Stew the salsify as visual until very tender and 
mash it very fine. Beat up an egg and add a tea- 
cupful of milk, a little flour, butter, and seasoning 
of pepper and salt. Make into little cakes and fry 
to a light brown color in boiling lard, first rolling 
them in beaten eggs (which are lightly seasoned) 
and fine bread crmnbs. 

TURNIPS 

Are usually grown as a catch crop to follow after 

some other crop which has failed to prosper or has 

[172] 



ROOT VEGETABLES 



matured and been gathered. For winter use, they 
need not be sown before the middle of July or the 
first of August. Any good garden soil will grow the 
turnip, as it is not particular as to soil or location. 
For garden culture, the seed should be sown in 
shallow drills fifteen inches apart and the plants 
thinned to stand four to six inches apart in the row. 
Keep clean from weeds and the earth loose and 
mellow. 

Take up the roots in the fall, but not before 
some frost, as they will be sweeter than if dug 
earlier. They may be grown as a catch crop to fol- 
low early peas, cabbage, or any vegetable that is 
gotten out of the way before the first of August. 
For early summer use, sow the seed as soon as the 
ground can be worked in spring. 

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING TURNIPS 

Turnips are less watery if cooked whole, select- 
ing medium-sized tubers and cooking in salted 
water until tender, when they should be taken from 
the water with a skimmer and placed in the oven a 
few moments to steam dry, then mashed, seasoned 
w4th butter, pepper and salt, and sent to the table 
in a hot dish. 

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TURNIP CUPS WITH PEAS 

Steam small white turnips until tender. When 
done, remove from the fire and hollow out the cen- 
tres, cutting the tops in scallops. Fill with peas 
cooked with a cream dressing made of two table- 
spoonfuls of butter cooked with two tablespoonfuls 
of flour, one cupful of milk, and one teaspoonful of 
salt. Or if cream may be used, one spoonful of but- 
ter will be sufficient. Serve very hot on a platter 
garnished with parsley. 



[174] 



CHAPTER ELEVEN 
VINE VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 



1 HOUGH limited in number, the fruits or vege- 
tables produced by plants of a viny nature com- 
prise some of the most important and interesting of 
the garden's productions. The culture differs some- 
what from that given other plants and is limited to 
a shorter period of active operations. All vine 
growths are exceedingly tender when young, and 
for this reason cannot be gotten into the ground un- 
til all danger of frost is past and the soil is warm. 
The seeds of this class of plants — especially of 
melons in variety — are very sensitive to wet or cold 
and prone to decay if conditions are not quite right. 
It is often, for this reason, necessary to repeat the 
planting twice or oftener before a good stand of 
plants is obtained. No seed should go into the 
ground at the North before the twentieth of May, 
and in many instances the first of June will give 

better results. Where very early fruit is desired, 

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seed may be started in the house or hotbed by cut- 
ting sods from a meadow or other place and cutting 
them in squares about five inches in diameter and 
packing them closely together in a warm hotbed. 
The grass, if long, should be sheared away and 
the sods set grass-side down. On each of these 
pieces of sod five or six seeds of melons or squash 
may be planted, covered with two inches of rich, 
fine soil or manure, and when the seeds have ger- 
minated, all but three of the best may be removed. 
When the weather is favourable, these pieces of 
sod may be planted out in the open ground in hills 
prepared as for seed. Great care must be taken in 
handling the sods, as there is no plant grown in the 
garden so sensitive to disturbance in transplanting 
as the musk-melon. Cucumbers and squash are less 
sensitive, but even these will stand little disturb- 
ance and handling. Old strawberry baskets are 
sometimes used for this purpose, being placed in the 
hotbed close together and filled with rich soil well 
pressed into them; when transplanted, basket and 
all is removed to the field. Do not set them in the 
open until after June 1st. 

A warm, sunny situation suits all vine plants, 
and a light, moist, sandy soil, heavily enriched with 

[176] 



VINE VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 



well-decayed manure, is necessary for their success- 
ful culture. 

The ground should be very thoroughly pre- 
pared by deep ploughing and repeated dragging 
and raking. The seeds should be planted in hills 
four feet apart for cucumbers and six for musk- 
melons, while eight feet apart will give none too 
much room for squashes and water-melons. Two or 
three spadefuls of manure should be incorporated 
in each hill, which should be raised a little above 
the surface of the ground. The object in planting 
in these raised hills is that water may not settle 
about the plants should excessive rainfall follow 
the planting. In dry seasons level planting would 
be all right, but seeds planted on the level in a wet 
season will be quite certain to decay, and even 
plants which have come up will damp off under 
these conditions. Planting on elevated hills is a 
measure of protection which may be supplemented 
by covering the hills with a frame of wood or a 
light box with the bottom knocked out and re- 
placed with a pane of glass; given this protection, 
the plants will come through a wet spell fairly 
well. In the small home garden the use of frames 

is a very practical and satisfactory measure, as 

[177] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



after the plants have become started and the 
weather sufficiently warm, the glass may be re- 
placed with a screen of window netting and the 
plants protected from the squash-bug or beetle, 
which creates such havoc in the melon patch. 

These frames, if removed and stored in a dry 
place as soon as the need for them is over, will last 
for years. They should not be left on the hills after 
the vines have made enough growth to escape from 
them, and in the early stage of gro^vth, while the 
glass is in use, it should be removed during the 
hottest part of the day and netting used to pre- 
vent burning, and to allow the plants the advan- 
tage of fresh air. 

As soon as the plants have made a foot or less 
of growth the ends of all the branches should be 
pinched back. This encourages the plants to branch 
freely and will also result in the first blossoms 
formed setting fruit which will ripen much in ad- 
vance of fruit on unpi-uned vines. It is claimed by 
some that the first blossoms set on the vines are 
sterile and would bear no fruit, but this is not my 
opinion, nor does experience justify any such 
theory, as I invariably find that when the vines are 

pinched back they produce from three to five 

[178] 



VINE VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 



melons close to the root, which are always several 
days or weeks earlier than those on the remainder 
of the vines. I note this of the melons especially, 
squashes giving one or two fruits at the base of the 
plant. 

Where ground is at a premium and one only 
desires to grow sufficient fruit for the private table, 
very satisfactory results may be obtained by grow- 
ing the melons and cucumbers on netting. The hen 
park-fence affords an excellent opportunity for 
this form of culture, and I find that the hens do 
not disturb the vines in the least. 

I do not think the vines produce quite so freely 
as on the ground, but the fruit matures quite as 
well, and the labour of caring for and gathering 
it is so much less than when grown on the ground, 
and the fruit so much more attractive in appear- 
ance, that the method has much to commend it. 
Cucumbers especially do well, and the fresh, bright 
appearance is in marked contrast to that of the 
ground-grown fruit. There is no labour connected 
with the growing of vegetables so trying as that 
of gathering pickles ; the difficulty of getting about 
among the vines and the stooping position nec- 
essary to their gathering make it exceedingly 

[179] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



wearisome. Where they are grown on the ground, 
it will be well to curtail the growth sufficiently by 
frequent pinchings back or directing the running 
vines, to allow room to pass between the hills with- 
out treading on the vines, which seriously injures 
them and stops their bearing. 

Cultivation should begin about the hills as soon 
as the plants are above ground, and earlier if the 
soil becomes hard or caked. Some twelve or fifteen 
seeds should have been planted in each hill. This 
allows for those which decay or for any reason fail 
to start and furnish food for the bugs, which are 
quite sure to appear unless the plants are protected 
by frames. When the plants have gotten their 
rough leaves and the bugs have left them, all but 
three plants should be removed and these encour- 
aged to grow by the application of a little nitrate 
of soda worked into the hills about the plants in 
the proportion of a tablespoonful to a hill. Hen 
manure is also an excellent dressing for this pur- 
pose. 

If the trowel or light hoe is used about the plants 

in the hills and for a little distance out, no weeds 

will gain a foothold there, and the hand-cultivator 

will take care of the ground between the hills. Cul- 

[180] 



VINE VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 



tivation should be continued as long as there is room 
enough between the hills for the cultivator to pass 
and should be followed by the rake to produce a 
clean surface and a dust mulch. When the cultiva- 
tor can no longer be used, there will still be work 
for the narrow rake or hoe, and this should be used 
as long as possible. After the vines cover the ground 
they should not be disturbed further until the fruit 
begins to ripen. 

In very dry and dusty spells of weather the 
vines may be watered with advantage, especially 
if the watering may be done with a hose, so as to 
thoroughly cleanse the vine, and liquid manure 
may occasionally be given with advantage. 

CUCUMBERS 

When wanted for pickles the cucumbers should be 
gathered as soon as they are large enough. It is bet- 
ter not to gather both pickles and cucumbers for 
the table from the same vine, as the maturing of 
the fruit decreases the production of young fruit. 
Often, however, there will be enough pickles over- 
looked in gathering to supply an average family 
with cucumbers for the table. It is always best to 
gather the tiny pickles first, depending for large 

[181] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



pickles for use in making mixed pickles, pickled 
lilly, mangoes, and the like on the later fruit, as 
this keeps the vines in better bearing condition. 
Any fruit which has grown too large to use or has 
begun to ripen should be at once removed, as the 
production of seed will greatly exhaust the vine, 
and there is no economy in saving more than two 
or three for seed. 

The fruits grown on vines trained on wire net- 
ting are so easily gathered and so easily found that 
the picking is apt to be much cleaner than where 
the vines are grown on the ground. 

For growing on netting, the best variety is 
the Japanese Climbing cucumber. This is a fine, 
large variety of a rich dark green, and very shapely. 
It is a prolific bearer, and I find the flavour supe- 
rior to any previously grown and it is exceeding- 
ly crisp and firm. It is equally good as a pickle 
or table variety, and if I were restricted to one 
variety, I should prefer this. As it is I usually 
grow this on the netting and some good pick- 
ling variety on the gromid. For a good all-around 
cucumber the white spine varieties are satisfactory, 
and for pickles, the Chicago Pickling, of which 

Snow's Fancy Pickling is an improved sort, is 

[ 182] 




JAPANESE CLIMBING CTTT^ICER NEARLY SIX FEP.T FROM THE GROtTv'D 



WELL-GROW^ CUCUMBERS 



VINE VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 



very popular with pickle factories and market 
men. 

A FEV^ CUCUMBER AND PICKLE RECIPES 

Pare and cut cucumbers into small cubes till you 
have a cupful; add one teaspoonful each of salt, 
minced onion, and parsley; one tablespoonful each 
of tarragon vinegar and lemon juice. Drain on col- 
ander or wire sieve half an hour. Put on ice. Just 
before serving add one and one-half cups of stiffly 
whipped cream. 

HALIBUT IN CUCUMBERS 

Cook the halibut till tender in court bouillon — 
two quarts of water — add a few slices each of car- 
rot, onion, and celery ; two or three cloves and pep- 
percorns ; a bit each of mace, bay leaf, and parsley, 
a little salt, and lemon juice. 

Drain, and when cool remove skin and bone and 

pick the fish apart in fine flakes. Make a rich white 

sauce in the regular way, adding from a quarter 

to a half teaspoonful of curry powder to every two 

cupfuls of sauce, according to taste. Pare, cut in 

halves, and parboil in bouillon the required number 

of cucumbers. Scoop out the inside of each half, 

[ 183] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



fill with the creamed fish, cover with prepared 
crumbs, to which add one-third cupful of butter to 
every cupful of dried bread crumbs, and bake about 
Iialf an hour or less, till the cucumbers are soft, but 
not till they lose shape. Serve with a lemon point 
on each plate. 

TO SERVE CUCUMBERS RAW 

Place them in ice-water until very cold. Peel and 
slice very thin; sprinkle with salt and place in an 
earthen dish, which should be tilted on one end to 
allow the water to drain away from the fruit. Place 
in the ice-box until ready to serve. Drain free of 
moisture and serve in salad bowl with a dressing of 
pepper and vinegar. If liked young, green onions 
may be sliced and served with the cucumbers. Pre- 
pared thus, they are perfectly digestible, and may 
be eaten by any one. 

CUCUMBER A LA CREME 

Peel and cut into slices lengthwise some fine 
cucumbers. Boil them until soft; salt to taste, and 
serve with a delicate cream sauce. 

[184] 



VINE VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 



CUCUMBER PICKLES 

Select medium-sized small cucumbers. For one 
peck, make a brine which will bear up an egg ; heat 
it boiling hot and pour it over the cucumbers; let 
them stand twenty-four hours, then wipe them dry. 
Heat some vinegar boiling hot and let stand again 
twenty-four hours. Now change the vinegar, put- 
ting on the fresh vinegar, adding to it one gill of 
brown sugar, one-half gill of white mustard-seed, a 
teaspoonful of cloves, and the same of cinnamon 
sticks, a piece of alum the size of a hickory nut, and 
a tablespoonful of celery-seed; heat it all boiling 
hot and pour over the cucumbers. Seal up in quart 
cans. 

TO PUT DOWN CUCUMBERS A FEW AT A TIME 

When gathered from the vines put in a crock or 
firkin layers of cucumbers and rock salt alternate- 
ly, enough salt to make sufficient brine to cover 
them ; no water ; cover with a cloth ; keep them under 
the brine with a heavy board ; take off the cloth and 
rinse it every time you put in fresh cucumbers, as 
a scum will rise and settle upon it. Use plenty of 

salt and the pickles will keep a year. 

[185] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



To prepare pickles for use, soak in hot water and 
keep in a warm place until they are fresh enough, 
then pour spiced vinegar over them and let them 
stand over night, then pour that off, and put on 
fresh. 

SWEET CUCUMBER PICKLES 

Take ripe cucumbers, pare them, and cut out the 
seeds ; cut in strips or fancy shape and soak in weak 
brine for twenty-four hours, then put them in vine- 
gar and water and soak for twenty-four hours 
longer. Then put them in sweetened vinegar, the 
same as for any sweet pickle, and cook until ten- 
der. Take to a quart of vinegar three pounds of 
brown sugar, a tablespoonful of ground cinnamon 
and a few cloves tied in a cloth, and boil together 
and turn over the cucumbers. 

MUSK-MELONS 

Have been so greatly improved in the past few 
years that they possess a quality and flavour un- 
known a few years ago. To those who like a green- 
fleshed melon — and they are the sweetest, finest- 
flavoured melons grown — the Rocky Ford is the 

melon of melons. This is a small melon, averaging 

[186] 



» 



VINE VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 



about five inches in length, oval in shape, beautiful- 
ly netted, and of delicious flavour. It is eminently 
suited to growing on netting, as its small size makes 
it of easy support and the fruit will not separate 
from the stem until ripe, so that a brief inspection 
of the vines will determine which fruit is ready to 
use without any preliminary handling. 

For a yellow-fleshed melon of a large, showy 
kind there is nothing superior to the Irondequoit. 
The fruit is nearly round, finely netted, and of 
a handsome yellow colour. It is a melon which sells 
better than most of the varieties in the market, and 
on the table well sustains its reputation for quality. 
I grow these two melons exclusively in my own 
garden, experience with other varieties demon- 
strating the tinith that there is nothing superior in 
the melon line. 

Water-melons are not worth while growing here 
in the North. Kleckley's Sweet and Cole's Early 
are good varieties for the Northern garden, both 
being of good size, very sweet, and good bearers. 

WATER-MELON OR MUSK-MELON PICKLES 

Cut the fruit into desired size and put in a stone 

jar and pour over it enough scalding vinegar to 

[187] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



cover. Heat the vinegar three successive days and 
pour over fruit. Then weigh the fruit, and to every 
five pounds add three pounds of white sugar, one 
quart vinegar, and cloves, cinnamon, and allspice to 
suit. Boil all together until fruit is tender. Put the 
fruit in jars, boil down the syrup until there is just 
enough to cover, and pour over scalding hot. 

PICKLED MANGOES 

Let the mangoes, or young musk-melons, lie in 
salted water strong enough to bear an egg for two 
weeks, then soak them in pure water for two days, 
changing the water two or three times; then re- 
move the seeds and put the mangoes in a kettle, 
first a layer of mangoes and then a layer of grape 
leaves and then mangoes, and so on, until all are 
in, covering the mangoes with leaves. Add a lump 
of alum as large as a hickory nut, pour vinegar 
over them, and boil them ten or fifteen minutes; 
remove the leaves and let the pickles stand in this 
vinegar for a week; then stuff them with the fol- 
lowing mixture: One pound of ginger, soaked in 
brine for a day or two and cut in slices, one ounce 
of black pepper, one of mace, one of allspice, one 

of tumeric, half a pound of garlic, soaked in brine 

[188] 




A PERFECTLY GROWN MUSKAIELON 



FORDHOOK EARLY WATERMELONS 



VINE VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 



for a day or two and then dried, one pint of grated 
horse-radish, one of black mustard-seed, and one 
of white mustard-seed. Bruise all the spices and 
mix with a teacupful of pure olive oil. To each 
mango add one teaspoonf ul of brown sugar ; cut one 
solid head of cabbage fine, add one pint of small 
onions, a few small cucumbers, and green tomatoes. 
Lay them in brine for a day and night, then drain 
them well, and add the imperfect mangoes, chopped 
fine, and the spices ; mix thoroughly ; stuff the man- 
goes and tie them ; put them in a stone jar and pour 
over them the best cider vinegar. Set them in a 
bright, dry place till they are canned. In a month 
add three pounds of brown sugar. If this is not 
enough add more to taste. This is for four dozen 
mangoes. 

SQUASHES 

Squash are such rank growing vegetables that they 
are especially benefited by liberal pinching back, and 
this should be done as soon as the vines are a few 
inches long and continued at intervals until culti- 
vation ceases. There is little difference in the culti- 
vation accorded the summer and winter squash. 
The varieties known as bush squash, however, are 

[189] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



planted much closer together — from three to four 
feet, giving room enough for these. Where one 
has a convenient compost heap, sufficient summer 
squash may be grown on it to supply the needs of 
the table. They make a pleasing addition to the 
summer bill of fare, and some of them are good 
winter keepers. 

For a winter squash there are no better varieties 
than the old-fashioned Hubbard and the Golden 
Hubbard, the latter being a much more prolific 
bearer and ripening its fruit much in advance of 
the warted Hubbard. I do not think it is quite so 
good a keeper as the Hubbard; these we have had 
in perfection until mid-March, but so much de- 
pends upon the manner of handling the squash 
after harvesting that that must be taken into con- 
sideration in comparing any two varieties. 

Any variety of squash must be gathered before 

they are injured by frost, but unless the shell is so 

hard as to resist the thumb nail, they will not prove 

good winter keepers, nor will they cook very dry 

and mealy, as a good squash should. Such squash 

should be used at once if for table use, but they 

will be much relished by the poultry should they 

be unfit for household use, and should be stored 

[190] 



VINE VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 



in as dry a place as possible and kept for that 
purpose. 

TOOTHSOME WAYS OF COOKING SQUASH 

The green or summer squash is best when the 
rind has begun to turn yellow, as it is then less 
watery and insipid than when younger. Wash 
them, cut them in large pieces, and take out the 
seeds. Steam for three-quarters of an hour, or until 
quite tender. When done, place on a piece of 
cheese-cloth over a colander and press with a po- 
tato-masher or spoon till smooth ; then take the ends 
of the cheese-cloth and twist them until all the mois- 
ture possible is extracted from the squash. 

Put in a stew-pan and season with butter, pep- 
per and salt, and set it on the range, stirring fre- 
quently, until quite dry, taking care that it does 
not burn. Or it may be set in the oven until dry, 
when it should be served in a hot dish. 

BAKED WINTER SQUASH 

Winter squash should never be cooked in water, 
as its quality depends upon the mealy dryness of 
the vegetable. Break into large pieces, remove the 
seed, and place in a dripping-pan, first sprinkling 

[191] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



lightly with sugar, and place in the oven to bake 
for about an hour, or until done. When done, peel 
and mash like mashed potatoes, seasoning with 
butter, pepper, and salt, or serve in the shells, to be 
eaten like sweet potatoes. 

Squash retains its sweetness much better this way 
than when boiled and is far dryer. The next best 
thing to baking is steaming, the squash being 
broken into pieces, the shell removed or not, as 
preferred, and steamed till done, when it is mashed 
and seasoned and placed in the oven a few mo- 
ments to dry out. 

PUMPKIN PIE 

One quart of steamed or baked pumpkin or 
squash pressed through a sieve, nine eggs, whites 
and yolks beaten separately, two quarts of milk, 
one teaspoonful of mace, one teaspoonful of cin- 
namon, and the same of nutmeg. One and one- 
half cupfuls of white or very light-brown sugar. 
Beat all well together and bake in a crust without 
a cover. 

SQUASH PIE 

One pint of steamed, dry squash, one cupful of 

brown sugar, three eggs, two tablespoonfuls of 

[192] 



VINE VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 



molasses, one tablespoonful of melted butter, one 
tablespoonful of ginger, one teaspoonful of cin- 
namon, a pinch of salt, and one pint of milk. This 
makes two ordinary pies or one large deep one. 

SQUASH SOUFFLE PIE 

Cook four tablespoonfuls of flour in one-half 
cup of butter until smooth, add gradually one and 
one-quarter cupfuls of rich milk, three-quarters of 
a cupful of sugar, one-half cupful of molasses, and 
two cupfuls of sifted squash. Cook until the boil- 
ing point is reached, then cool a little and stir 
gradually into the beaten yolks of six eggs, season 
with cinnamon, and fold into the mixture the 
beaten whites of four eggs. Turn into tins covered 
with rich pastry that has baked fifteen minutes, 
and return to the oven to finish baking the crust 
and to cook the souffle for about twenty minutes. 

When cool, cover with a meringue made of the 
two remaining whites and set in the oven to brown 
slightly. Baked in patty tins, these are very nice 
for luncheons and Sunday night suppers. 



[193] 



CHAPTER TWELVE 
GREENS AND SALAD VEGETABLES 



1 HE plants which are grown for their leaves 
which are eaten either cooked or raw form a health- 
ful and important part of the garden's offerings. 
It is a question if any of the cooked vegetables 
afford so marked a relief from the winter bill of 
fare as does the dish of dandelion or other greens, 
which may be gathered wild by the dweller in 
country or village. Unfortunately, these wild 
things of the fields and woods are not so avail- 
able to the dweller in towns and cities, but there 
are many cultivated vegetables which are very 
palatable substitutes for these and may be grown 
in the limited area of the back-yard garden. 
In the cities materials for salads may be obtained 
throughout the year; this is especially true of let- 
tuce and celery salad, which is in the market most 

of the year. 

[194] 



GREENS AND SALAD VEGETABLES 



WATER-CRESS 

This is prized for salads and sandwiches, and 
grows wild along the margins of streams and about 
springs. Similar conditions may be supplied for a 
small patch of it by planting it about a hydrant 
from which water is allowed to trickle. Good soil, 
supplemented with a liberal addition of leaf-mould 
from the compost, should be supplied, and in this 
the cress seed may be sown in shallow drills a 
few inches apart. The only culture it will require 
after once getting started will be to keep it free 
from weeds. 

Upland cress, which is more frequently grown 
in the home garden, is grown in shallow drills in 
beds, setting the rows a few inches apart and thin- 
ning the plants somewhat by using plants from 
too congested parts of the drills. Repeated sowings 
should be made at intervals, as the upland cress 
quickly forms seed and is no longer useful for the 
table. The Upland Cress and the Extra Curled or 
Peppergrass are the varieties commonly grown, 
while the Erfurt Water Cress is the variety fa- 
voured for this sort. 

Very dainty sandwiches are made by buttering 
[ 195 ] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



lightly slices of very thin bread, with the crust re- 
moved, salting slightly and placing sprigs of the 
cress between the slices. Only the newest, most ten- 
der leaves should be used for this purpose. Cress 
is also served as an appetiser, to be eaten with the 
fingers, accompanied with salt. 

CORN SALAD 

This unique and comparatively little known salad 
plant is much liked by some. It is sown early in 
spring in drills one foot apart. It is one of the quick- 
growing vegetables, maturing in about six to eight 
weeks. For winter and early spring use, sown in 
drills in August and September. It should be pro- 
tected over winter by a light mulch of straw or 
litter. 

ENDIVE 

Is one of the best and most wholesome salads for 
fall and winter use. Sow in shallow drills in April 
for early use, or for late use, sowings may be made 
in June or July. When two or three inches high, 
thin out to stand about a foot apart in the rows. 
The plants which are removed may be used to set 
other rows or to fill in any vacant places in the 
present rows. They should have mellow and very 

[196] 



Ji 



GREENS AND SALAD VEGETABLES 



rich soil, as all salad vegetables require to make a 
quick growth in order that the leaves may be crisp 
and tender. 

When they have nearly gotten their growth, the 
plants should be blanched by bringing the outer 
leaves together above the heart and tying with 
yarn raffia or bits of cloth strips, or anything which 
will not bruise the leaves. The tying must be done 
in dry weather, a clear, sunshiny day being best, 
or, like the cauliflower, the inner part of the plants 
will mildew or decay. Some growers cover the 
plants with boards or canvas, much as is done in 
the case of celery. It takes from three to four weeks 
to blanch the plants. Like all vegetables, it is nec- 
essary to keep the rows clear of weeds and well 
cultivated. Going through the rows before a good 
rain, which has been preceded by a prolonged spell 
of dry weather, should always be done if possible, 
as this puts the soil in condition to absorb and re- 
tain the moisture and fits it for another dry spell, 
should one follow. 

ENDIVE SALAD 

The plants for this should be nicely blanched 
and crisp. It is the most wholesome of all salads. 

[197] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



Take two plants, cut away the roots, remove the 
dark-green leaves, and pick off all the rest; wash 
and drain well and add a few chives; dress with 
mayonnaise dressing. 

KALE 

Kale is cultivated the same as cabbage. It may 
be sown from May to June, one ounce of seed 
planting two hundred feet of drill. For early 
spring use, sow in September and protect during 
winter. A light frost improves kale, in this respect 
it being much like turnips and cauliflowers. 

LETTUCE 

Lettuce requires a rich, mellow soil, the richer the 
better, as all plants of this character, in which the 
leaves are the edible part, depend upon the rapid- 
ity of their growth for their peculiar crispness and 
toothsomeness. For early plants, sow the seed in 
the hotbed in March or April, or in flats in the 
house, and transplant to a sheltered border with a 
sunny southern exposure as soon as the plants are 
large enough and the ground outside in a suitable 
condition. For later use, the seed may be sown in 

the open ground at any time in April or May and 

[198] 



GREENS AND SALAD VEGETABLES 



continued for a succession at intervals throughout 
the summer until August. The plants should be 
thinned out to eight or ten inches apart in the rows 
if fine heads are wanted. The rows should be kept 
free from weeds and the soil loose and open at all 
times. In dry spells water should be flowed over 
the ground, and an occasional watering of liquid 
manure will be of benefit. By picking the outer 
leaves the inner ones will continue to develop, and 
in this way a very small patch be made to furnish 
a considerable amount of lettuce. 

Lettuce is a useful crop for following other vege- 
tables or for filling in vacant places left by the 
maturing of other plants or the failure of seeds to 
germinate. The hotbed may be devoted to the 
growing of radishes and lettuce as soon as the 
plants started therein have been transferred to the 
open ground. When used for this purpose, it will 
be well to provide a shade of light cotton cloth to 
cover the frames in the heat of the day, as the sun's 
rays are liable to prove too strong in the vicinity 
of the hotbed, which is selected for its sun and 
warmth. 

A few hills of lettuce may be started around the 
melons and squashes and will become of size to use 

[199] 



II 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



before the vines need the room. Like the radish, 
the lettuce is one of the plants which may be stuck 
in anywhere. 

There are so many good varieties of lettuce that 
one hesitates to make a selection. For my own 
personal use I have always preferred those sorts 
which show a tint of bronze on the leaves, the 
Early Prize Head being a most delicious variety. 
The Black Seeded Simpson is a fine home variety 
of the light green type, and the Grand Rapids 
Forcing Lettuce an excellent sort for early grow- 
ing in hotbed or frames. All Season lettuce is a 
very popular sort at the North, forming large 
compact heads which much resemble a flat-head 
cabbage. 

SOME WAYS OF USING LETTUCE 

Everything used in the concoction of a salad 
should be of the best and freshest material. The 
vegetables fresh and crisp, the oil of the purest 
or butter of the freshest, and the flavour of the 
vinegar beyond reproach. 

Lettuce salad is one of the simplest and most 
available of salads, and lends itself to many com- 
binations with other vegetables, fish, and meats. A 

[200] 



GREENS AND SALAD VEGETABLES 



salmon or lobster salad without its crisp, under- 
lying leaf of lettuce is a disappointment in appear- 
ance and in taste. 

Vinegar used with lettuce should be much weaker 
than for other vegetables, a too sour vinegar quite 
spoiling the flavour of the lettuce. One of the sim- 
plest and most satisfactory ways in which to serve 
lettuce is undressed, but very fresh and crisp in a 
well-chilled salad bowl. Accompanying it should 
be served, carefully shelled, chilled, hard-boiled 
eggs, and sugar and vinegar passed. This makes 
a salad of the freshest and simplest. 

LETTUCE SALAD 

Take three hard-boiled eggs and salt and mus- 
tard to taste, make it fine; make a paste by adding 
a dessertspoonful of olive oil or melted butter; 
mix thoroughly, and then dilute by adding gradu- 
ally a teacupful of vinegar, and pour over the let- 
tuce. Garnish by slicing another egg and laying 
over the lettuce. 

MUSTARD 

Is one of the most satisfactory vegetables used 

for greens. It is also used in combination with cress 

[201] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



as a salad. The seed of both the black and white 
mustard is quite universally used in pickles of 
various kinds. 

For salad use, it is sown thickly in shallow drills 
about six inches apart, forming beds of the drills. 
It should be sown at intervals during the summer 
to assure a succession of new and tender growth. 
For early spring use, it may be sown in frames 
or boxes, where it can be kept from severe cold. 
Keep free from weeds and cultivate sufficiently to 
keep the soil open and soft. 

In using mustard for salads or greens only the 
leaves are used, and these should be carefully 
washed and looked over that no grit or insects may 
be included in the cooking. Cook like spinach in 
an open vessel until done, drain through a colan- 
der, pressing free from moisture, and serve sea- 
soned with salt, pepper, and melted butter. 

SPINACH 

Is one of our most important vegetables, and 

should be found growing in every garden. The 

culture is simple: the chief point to bear in mind 

is that it requires very rich soil; it can scarcely be 

too rich, as upon its rapid growth depends its suc- 

[202] 



GREENS AND SALAD VEGETABLES 



culence and tenderness. For spring and summer 
use the seed is sown in shallow drills, a foot apart 
and one inch deep, as early as the ground can be 
worked in the spring and every two weeks there- 
after for a succession. For winter and early spring 
use, sow in well-worked and manured ground in 
September, covering the plants from frost with 
straw at the approach of severe weather. 

The Round-seeded Savoy is one of the best vari- 
eties for summer use, but the new Victoria is said 
to stand the warm weather somewhat better and to 
be in many respects an ideal spinach. The New 
Zealand variety is a larger-growing variety, and 
is usually planted in hills three feet apart each way. 
One ounce of seed will plant a hundred feet of 
drill. Keep free from weeds and well cultivated, 
watering freely in dry weather. 

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKING SPINACH 

In cooking spinach for greens only the tender 
parts should be used, and these should be care- 
fully washed through several waters to entirely 
free them from sand or any insects which may 
have found lodgment. Drain and put to cook in 
boiling water. Fifteen to twenty minutes is usu- 

[203] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



ally sufficient time in which to cook spinach. Be 
careful to remove all scum which raises. When it 
is quite tender, take it up and drain it well by lay- 
ing on a piece of cheese-cloth over a colander and 
pressing out all water with a spoon or potato 
masher. Further pressure by twisting the cheese- 
cloth will remove any remaining moisture, after 
which it should be returned to the saucepan with 
a piece of butter and pepper and salt to taste. Set 
it on the range and let it stew five minutes, stirring 
all the time. Serve on a hot vegetable dish, formed 
into a mound and garnished with sliced hard- 
boiled eggs. In order that the spinach may retain 
its fine green colour, the vessel in which it is cooked 
should not be covered. 

CREAM OF SPINACH SOUP 

One-half peck of spinach washed and cooked in 
a cup of boiling water with one teaspoonful of salt 
for five minutes in a porcelain kettle; chop it and 
rub through a sieve. While it is being pressed 
through a sieve add to it one pint of chicken stock. 
Let a quart of milk come to a boil in a double ket- 
tle, add one teaspoonful of grated onion, a blade 

of mace, and a bay leaf. Rub smooth three table- 

[204] 



GREENS AND SALAD VEGETABLES 



spoonfuls of flour and two of butter and stir them 
into the boihng milk; continue to stir until it is 
thick and smooth, add the spinach and rub through 
a puree sieve, return to the double boiler and bring 
to the boiling point, and serve in a hot tureen. 

SPINACH BALLS 

Pound to a paste in a mortar the yolks of two 
hard-boiled eggs and rub smooth with the yolk of 
one raw egg; season with salt, a drop of tabasco, 
and a very little melted butter. Mix with one cup 
of cold cooked spinach, drained and pressed as dry 
as possible. Make into small balls, roll in flour, and 
fry in a basket a few at a time. 



[205] 



CHAPTER THIRTEEN 
PERENNIAL VEGETABLES 



1 HE list of perennial vegetables commonly grown 
in the kitchen garden is not large, but it includes 
some of the most indispensable vegetables of the 
kitchen cuisine. They come into use so early in the 
spring that they provide fresh vegetables at a 
time when the palate is most jaded from a winter 
diet and bridge over the period of waiting for the 
new planting to become productive. 

ASPARAGUS 

Is the most palatable of our spring vegetables and 
comes into cutting in May. The usual way of start- 
ing an asparagus bed is by setting out the roots, 
which are obtained of the florist or market gar- 
dener ; but very excellent, though somewhat slower, 
results follow the planting of seed. In growing 
the asparagus from seed, the usual way is to plant 
the seed in drills in rows one foot apart in thor- 

[206] 



m^ 



PERENNIAL VEGETABLES 



oughly pulverized and well-manured ground. The 
plants must be kept entirely free from weeds, and 
to achieve this it will be necessary to do consider- 
able hand work, pulling out the weeds from be- 
tween the plants and loosening up the soil with the 
fingers. The young asparagus plants' are very 
slender and fragile, and thus close culture and 
weeding is essential. As soon as the plants are a few 
inches high, they should be thinned out to stand 
six inches apart, and from that on be cultivated 
sufficiently to keep the soil mellow and entirely 
free from weeds. 

The second spring the young plants may be 
transplanted into permanent beds, which should be 
so located as not to be in the way of the cultivation 
of other parts of the garden. It will be found that 
setting the rows far enough apart to cultivate be- 
tween will greatly advance the culture and lessen 
the care. 

The ground for the permanent beds should be 
very rich or specially prepared. The rows should, 
if they are to be cultivated by the hand-cultivator, 
be not less than eighteen inches apart and the plants 
set a foot apart in the rows; this will enable the 
gardener to cultivate each way of the plants and 

[207] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



will produce fuller stools of asparagus and larger 
shoots than if the plants are set closer together. 

In preparing the ground for the plants, it should 
be trenched to a depth of eighteen or twenty inches, 
several inches of rich manure worked into the bot- 
tom of the trench, and the plants set in this. Suf- 
ficient earth should be filled in about the roots to 
cover them three inches deep, more soil to be added 
in cultivating after the plants are set. Place the 
roots in a natural position, rounding up the soil 
somewhat under the crown and spreading out the 
roots; press down the earth firmly about them and 
level all off gradually in cultivating. 

Thorough culture may be given the first year, 
or resort may be had to a mulch of straw, marsh 
hay, or lawn clippings, which will greatly reduce 
the care of the beds, and if sufficient material is 
used, keep the beds in quite satisfactory condition. 

As soon as the plants have become old enough 

to bear berries I prefer to cut the fruiting tops 

before the seed shall have ripened and burn them, 

replacing with other litter; but this should not be 

done till the tops have quite matured. I find that 

allowing the old plants to seed will, in a short time, 

produce a crop of young plants which, unless re- 

[208] 



PERENNIAL VEGETABLES 



lentlessly treated as weeds, choke out the old plants, 
and are troublesome to destroy and altogether un- 
desirable. 

Cutting for use may begin the second season, 
but should not be carried to the extent that would 
be practised on an old bed, and should be discon- 
tinued while yet the roots are throwing large, 
healthy shoots. In cutting asparagus for use, it 
should be cut just below the surface, never very 
much under it, as all that grows below the surface 
is tough and unfit for use. Where the bed is not 
producing sufficient for use at first, it may be gath- 
ered from day to day and placed upright in a dish 
of water until sufficient has accumulated for use. 
It will, in this way, make considerable growth and 
the flavour will not be very much impaired. 

As soon as the bed has come into bearing it 
should have all the rough litter removed very early 
in the spring and a liberal top dressing of wood 
ashes and fresh manure spread over it. Nitrate of 
soda and other commercial fertilisers may be ap- 
plied at this time or deferred until the roughest of 
the manure is removed preparatory to cutting. 
Salt is often applied in the proportion of six hun- 
dred pounds per acre, or about four pounds to the 

[209] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



square rod, but it is not a plant food and only 
serves as a weed killer for a very short time. If 
one wishes very early asparagus, one should plant 
it in rows running east and west and with a sunny 
southern exposure and protected on the north by 
a high wall or building. A rough board frame 
around the beds, covered with sash, may be pro- 
vided and this well banked with rough litter during 
winter. In February this is removed and the frames 
filled with fresh manure, which should also be 
banked about the outside of the frames. Part of 
the inside manure will need to be removed as soon 
as growth begins and the sashes lifted during the 
warmer part of the day to admit air. As soon as 
the weather becomes warm the sash and frames 
may be removed and the beds given the usual treat- 
ment. 

Asparagus is successfully forced in warm cellars 
by lifting clumps of roots in the fall and placing 
them on the floor of the cellar, as is done with 
rhubarb. It is, of course, necessary that the plants 
become frozen for some time before forcing and 
that the cellar be warm and dark, or that light 
should be shut away from the immediate vicinity 
of the plants by turning boxes or barrels over 

[210] 



PERENNIAL VEGETABLES 



them. A position back of a furnace offers a favour- 
able position, as it is usually out of the way, warm, 
and not too light. Here, on the cement bottom of 
the cellar, a bed of rough boards or a big shallow 
box, adapted to the purpose, may be prepared, and 
the roots, which must be lifted before the ground 
freezes, but left outside to freeze, covered with 
loose earth until some time in November or De- 
cember, when they are set closely together therein. 
Sufficient earth should be added to cover the crowns 
of the plants, and this may be well enriched with 
manure. It should be kept moist, for it will be re- 
membered that the asparagus is a plant of the 
spring, when the earth teems with moisture. If the 
cellar is at all light, it will be necessary to cover 
the beds with a frame of wood, covered with can- 
vas, old carpet, or anything convenient, or even 
a heavy mulching of straw. This is not actually 
necessary after growth has begun and the shoots 
are breaking ground. Additional heat may be pro- 
vided by placing a lantern under the frame and 
covering the beds with a piece of old carpet, but 
this must not be retained long enough to engender 
mould or mustiness. 

[211] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



SOME OF THE WAYS OF COOKING 
ASPARAGUS 

CREAM OF ASPARAGUS 

Cook twelve stalks of asparagus in one quart of 
water, add two sprays of parsley, tliree leaves of 
mint, and two small green onions. When the as- 
paragus is tender, rub all through a sieve, mash- 
ing and rubbing through as much as possible. Re- 
turn to the fire, add a teaspoonful of celery-salt, a 
teaspoonful of paprika, and one pint of hot milk. 
When it comes to a boil, draw back from the stove 
and add the yolks of two eggs, beaten with half 
a cup of cream. Have a tablespoonful of finely 
chopped parsley in the soup tureen and pour over 
the hot soup and serve at once. A tablespoonful of 
flour, rubbed smooth in a tablespoonful of butter, 
may be substituted for the eggs and cream. If a 
rich, creamy consistency is desired, place a half cup- 
ful of whipped cream in the tureen before adding 
the soup. 

ASPARAGUS SOUP 

Boil slowly for forty minutes one bunch of as- 
paragus, which has been cut into inch pieces, in 

[212] 



PERENNIAL VEGETABLES 



one pint of water. At the end of this time remove 
the tips and press the remainder through a colan- 
der. Place a quart of milk in a double boiler, and 
when it boils stir into it two tablespoonfuls of flour 
and one heaping tablespoonful of butter rubbed 
together until smooth. Stir until smooth and thick ; 
then add the asparagus which was pressed through 
the colander, season with salt and pepper, heat, 
then add the asparagus tips, and serve at once very 
hot. 

ASPARAGUS TIPS IN CROUSTADES 

These are nice served with broiled lamb chops, 
with fried chickens, or as an entree. The crou- 
stades are nicer if prepared from round loaves of 
bread, made by baking in a tin can or in a Quaker- 
crimped bread-pan, but square slices of bread, three 
or four inches square, may be used. Trim the slices 
of bread, which should be free from crusts, two 
inches thick. Remove from the centre of each as 
much of the crumb as possible, leaving a small 
square or round box ; fry a golden brown in a ket- 
tle of hot fat, or butter inside and out, and brown 
in a quick oven. Fill the centres with asparagus 
tips dressed with a delicate cream sauce. 

[213] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



ASPARAGUS CREAM OMELETTE 

Stir one heaping tablespoonful of butter and the 
same amount of flour together. Set the saucepan 
over the fire, and when well blended add one cup 
of milk; stir until smooth; add a teaspoonful of 
chopped parsley; remove from the fire and cool. 
Beat three eggs separately, the whites to a stiff 
froth; add the yolks to the cold sauce, with a tea- 
spoonful of salt and a dash of cayenne. Add also 
one cup of asparagus tips and the* stiffly beaten 
whites. Put a tablespoonful of butter in a hot fry- 
ing-pan. When it is brown, pour in the mixture, 
break it in pieces with a fork to allow the uncooked 
portion to run down. When it is set, place in a 
hot oven for five minutes, double over, and serve. 

ASPARAGUS LOAF WITH YELLOW BECHAMEL 

SAUCE 

Butter thoroughly a charlotte mould of quart 
size and line it with well-drained, cooked aspara- 
gus tips. Cook two tablespoon fuls of flour and two 
tablespoonfuls of butter together, add a teaspoon- 
ful of salt, a dash of cayenne, and a cup of cream; 

gradually allow it to boil five minutes, remove from 

[214] 



PERENNIAL VEGETABLES 



the fire, and add one cup of cooked asparagus tips 
and four eggs thoroughly beaten. Turn the mixture 
carefully into the decorated mould, set the mould 
in a pan of hot water, and cook in a moderate oven 
about thirty minutes, or until the centre is firm. 
Turn the loaf onto a hot platter, arrange about 
it little triangular pieces of bread that have been 
dipped in beaten eggs and milk and browned in 
hot butter. Pour around the sauce and serve at 
once. 

YELLOVr BECHAMEL SAUCE 

Mix two tablespoonfuls of flour and two of but- 
ter, cook until it begins to bubble, add gradually 
half a cup of hot stock and half a cup of milk. When 
sauce boils, set in a dish of hot water and stir in 
the beaten yolks of two eggs, half a cup of cooked 
asparagus tips, a teaspoonful of salt, a dash of cay- 
enne, and a tablespoonful of lemon juice. In place 
of stock, the water in which the asparagus was 
cooked may be used. 

ASPARAGUS ON TOAST 

Scrape the stems of the asparagus lightly, but 

very clean; throw them into cold water, and when 

all are ready, tie them in bunches of equal size, 

[215] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



cutting the large ends off neatly and evenly, and 
stand upright in a deep saucepan of boiling, salted 
water, which should not cover the tips, but allow 
these to steam done, so that they may not be over- 
cooked by cooking as long as the tougher parts. 
Have ready several slices of bread toasted a deli- 
cate brown ; dip these quickly in the water in which 
the asparagus was boiled and dish the vegetables 
upon it, the points all turned the same way, and 
send to table with a white sauce or melted butter. 
In cooking asparagus, it should be removed from 
the water the moment it is done in order that the 
colour and flavour may be at its best. 

STEWED ASPARAGUS 

Prepare as for asparagus on toast; remove from 
the water and remove the strings. Return to the 
saucepan and pour over a half cup of good cream, 
and, if liked, a spoonful of flour rubbed smooth in 
a little of the cream. Some prefer the asparagus 
dressed in this way and with the asparagus cut in 
inch lengths. Prepared this way, it is excellent on 
toast. 

[216] 



PERENNIAL VEGETABLES 



RHUBARB 

Is much appreciated by many in the early days of 
spring, and has certainly much to recommend it 
as a tonic and appetiser. There are few gardens 
in which a root or two of rhubarb will not be found 
growing, so accommodating is it as to environ- 
ment and conditions, but it is, at the same time, 
a plant which will well repay liberal culture. It 
should be given a permanent position in a warm, 
sunny place, and the ground should be very deeply 
dug, as the plants make an immense root growth, 
and the hole in which it is set should be dug eigh- 
teen inches or two feet deep, and all poor soil at 
the bottom should be removed and the excavation 
filled in with old manure and good, mellow soil. 
On this the roots of the rhubarb should be set, the 
crown only a Httle below the surface of the ground. 
The ground should slope away from the plants to 
insure good drainage in the winter. Cultivation 
in the early spring should be given, but will not 
be necessary throughout the summer if a mulch 
is placed over the ground on each side of the 
plant. The great overhanging leaves are quite 
effectual discouragers of weeds, and few, if any, 

[217] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



will grow in the immediate neighbourhood of the 
root. 

A heavy mulch of rough litter should be applied 
about the plants in the fall, and in the spring half 
barrels or boxes may be turned over the plants and 
fresh manure packed about them; this will much 
advance the growth of the plants. Later, as the 
weather grows warm, this may be removed and the 
plants allowed to make a natural growth, but the 
use of the barrels acts as a forcing house for early 
stalks. 

Rhubarb is easily forced in a warm cellar. The 
roots should be dug before the ground freezes and 
left outside, lightly covered with soil and brought 
into the cellar after they have been severely frozen. 
For the best results, however, this should not be 
done until about Christmas time, it will force better 
then. A dark, warm cellar is necessary, and where 
there is a heating plant, the furnace room will afford 
an excellent location for their forcing, or roots may 
be placed on the ground under the hot w^ater or 
steam pipes, where they run under the floors of 
rooms under which there is no cellar. If a strip or 
two of wood is nailed to the floor above the pipes, 
to which a heavy piece of duck or canvas can be 

[218] 



PERENNIAL VEGETABLES 



secured to extend down to the earth beneath, it 
will form an enclosure for the plants, which will re- 
tain heat and shut out light effectually. It will also 
be a convenient place in which to attend to them 
if the pipes are near the cellar wall. The soil in 
which the plants are set should cover the crowns 
several inches and should be kept moist — not wet — 
and any suspicion of mould or mustiness should 
be counteracted by airing as needed. Rhubarb 
grown in this way is very tender and delicate. Old 
rhubarb plants in the garden or field should be dug 
up, divided, and plants with only two or three 
buds be replanted in very rich soil every three or 
four years. No insects are injurious to the rhubarb. 

RHUBARB PIE AND OTHER DELICACIES 

Skin the stalks, cut them into small pieces and 
wash and put them in a stew-pan with no more 
water than adheres to them; when cooked, mash 
them fine and put in a small piece of butter; when 
cool, sweeten to taste; if liked, add a little lemon- 
peel, cinnamon, or nutmeg; line your plate with 
thin crust, put in the filling, cover with crust, and 
bake in a quick oven; sift sugar over it when 

served. The improved varieties, when grown rap- 

[219] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



idly, are so tender and delicate that the stalks need 
not be peeled. 

Another way of making rhubarb pie is as fol- 
lows : 

Cut the large stalks off where the leaves com- 
mence, strip off the outside skin, then cut the 
stalks in pieces half an inch long; line a pie-plate 
with rather thick paste, put a layer of the rhubarb 
nearly an inch deep (for a quart bowl of cut rhu- 
barb allow a large teacupful of sugar) ; strew it 
over with a saltspoonful of salt and a little nutmeg 
grated; shake over a little flour, cover with a rich 
pie-crust, cut a slit in the centre, trim off the edge 
with a sharp knife, and bake in a quick oven until 
the pie loosens from the dish. Rhubarb pies made 
in this way are altogether superior to those made 
with fruit which has previously been stewed. 

EHUBARB MERINGUE PIE 

Prepare the rhubarb as for the preceding pie, 

but do not use a top crust. Place in the oven and 

bake until done; take from the oven and let stand 

for a few moments, cover with a meringue made 

of the beaten white of an egg and one tablespoon- 

[ 220 ] 



PERENNIAL VEGETABLES 



ful of sugar, and return to a slow oven until it 
turns a golden brown. 

RHUBARB SAUCE 

Peel and cut the rhubarb into inch pieces and 
place in a dish, cover with sugar, but no water, and 
place in the oven and bake until tender. This is 
far finer than to stew the rhubarb on the stove 
with water. One tablespoonful of gelatin dis- 
solved in water and added to one quart of rhubarb 
will produce a most attractive dish when moulded 
and turned out in a glass dish for serving. 

HORSE-RADISH 

May be grown in any out-of-the-way corner, but 

seems to prefer a rather low, damp place. It is one 

of the most easily propagated of plants, as it 

thrives best when most disturbed. A small piece 

of the root stuck in the ground will quickly strike 

and commence to grow. It is not necessary that the 

crown of the plant should be used, a piece broken 

some distance below the crown doing equally as 

well and often better. It is for this reason difficult to 

eradicate once it has become established. Last year, 

in extending the boundaries of my flower garden, 

[221] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



a patch of horse-radish was encountered which was, 
as far as possible, dug up ; but the following spring 
it appeared as thrifty as ever, and although it was 
cut at frequent intervals — making the cutting as 
deep in the ground as practicable — it was still in a 
most flourishing condition when fall came, when 
another attempt was made to eradicate it, and all 
this new growth was produced from the broken 
ends of the roots left in the ground each time. 

This persistence in growth makes it convenient 
for use, as a few roots may be dug up and placed 
in a crock of water and will continue to grow and 
furnish a pungent relish for weeks. It is only neces- 
sary to see that the water is changed occasionally, 
so that it does not become slimy, and horse-radish 
will be at hand for immediate use without the trou- 
ble of going to the garden and digging it up each 
time it is wanted. It is one of the easiest of vege- 
tables for winter forcing, as a few roots can be 
taken up and placed in a box of moist earth in a 
light cellar and will continue to grow all winter. 

This ease of culture and survival under unfa- 
vourable circumstances indicate that it will spread 
rapidly, but this does not seem to be one of its 

faults, as a patch of it increases its boundaries but 

[222] 



PERENNIAL VEGETABLES 



slowly, and there is little fear of its overrunning 
the garden to any extent. The leaves are of much 
use in sickness as a blister, and the plant itself high- 
ly ornamental. 

Horse-radish, when grated for the table, should 
be mixed with white-wine vinegar, never with cider 
vinegar, as this gives it an unpleasant, dirty colour. 

PARSLEY 

Is one of the most useful of our perennial vege- 
tables; it enters into all forms of savory cooking, 
either as a seasoning or as a garnish. It is almost 
as appetising as cress for a sandwich, and gives an 
air to the plainest dish when used as a garnish. 
Strangely enough, its use seems little known out- 
side the cities, and is regarded rather as a curiosity 
than a necessity by many. It is easily established in 
any spare nook, or may be used to border beds 
of flowers or vegetables. 

The usual manner of starting a bed of parsley 
is by sowing the seed; the plants may be trans- 
planted, but will not do as well as the seed-grown 
plants. The ancients held that parsley should never 
be sown but transplanted, as they claimed that the 

seed had to make a journey to Hades before it 

[ 223 ] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



could again appear above ground, and, indeed, the 
tardiness with which it germinates would almost 
seem to bear out that idea. 

The ground should be thoroughly prepared by 
spading and enriching, and the seed should be sown 
as early in the spring as the ground can be worked, 
as after the ground becomes at all warm or dry, 
the seed will not germinate. It may be sown broad- 
cast or in drills a foot apart, covering the seed 
about half an inch deep, pressing the soil down firm- 
ly. When the plants are up, thin out to stand six 
inches apart in the rows. Keep clear of weeds and 
well cultivated. In using the parsley, the leaves are 
picked and the crown of the plant left undisturbed. 
If allowed to go to seed it injures the plant for 
garnishing, but a few plants should be allowed to 
seed, as it propagates itself in this way and insures 
a succession of young and tender plants. A light 
covering of brush or evergreen boughs during win- 
ter will be of benefit. A few plants may be lifted 
and wintered in a light window of the cellar or in 
a kitchen window and will furnish leaves for gar- 
nishing throughout the winter. 

Dried parsley is much used with other pot herbs 

in soups, and is easily prepared by picking the 

[224] 



PERENNIAL VEGETABLES 



leaves and enclosing them in paper bags and hang- 
ing them in a dry, airy place to dry. Parsley was 
much esteemed by the ancients, who believed it pre- 
vented intoxication by absorbing the fumes of wine. 
It was much used, therefore, as wreaths and chap- 
lets at their feasts and drinking bouts. It was pars- 
ley which Hercules selected for his first garlands of 
victory, and as the ancients utilised the plants in 
their merrymaking and rejoicing, so, too, it was 
brought into use in their funeral decorations, sprigs 
of the herb being strewn over their dead. 



[225] 



CHAPTER FOURTEEN 
STORING VEGETABLES IN WINTER 



V EGETABLES, which have been grown to perfection 
during the summer months and gathered while at 
their best, will deteriorate rapidly unless proper 
care is exercised in storing them away for the win- 
ter. Many of the methods employed by market 
gardeners and on farms where large quantities of 
fruit and vegetables are grown, and must be stored 
for sale at a time when they will bring a price much 
in advance of that which will prevail in the fall 
and early winter, are not practicable in the small 
home garden. 

Any dry, frost-proof cellar will keep potatoes 
in good condition providing the precaution is ob- 
served of airing the cellar regularly and persist- 
ently. The most common mistake in storing fruit 
and vegetables in the cellar of the house is in the 
direction of too much heat and too little air. It is 
rarely that the cellar windows require to be closed 

[226] 



STORING VEGETABLES IN WINTER 



before December, but in many cases they will be 
hermetically sealed at the approach of the first hard 
frost. This is not only bad for the contents of the 
cellar, but far worse for the people who dwell above 
the cellar. Where there is a heating plant in the 
cellar it is essential that there should be vegetable 
rooms separate from that devoted to furnace or 
boiler, and where this does not exist, an end of the 
cellar, at least, should be partitioned off for the 
purpose, though it may be but by a rough board 
partition; this as well as anything will shut out 
heat. Such a room should include one or more of 
the cellar windows, and preferably those on the 
sunny side of the house. 

For the storing of potatoes there is no better ar- 
rangement than bins made long and narrow and 
with partitions through the centres, making com- 
partments which will hold from one to three bush- 
els of potatoes. There should be a number of large 
auger holes in the bottom of each and the bins 
should be elevated on some sort of supports to a 
foot or more from the floor. It must be remem- 
bered that cold falls and that the bottom of the 
cellar is much the coldest part of it, and where 
there is danger of frost, the floor of the cellar is 

[227] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



the very poorest place in which to place anything 
that is to be kept from frost. 

Potatoes should be dug on a bright day, when 
the soil is dry, so that the earth will shake off easily. 
Vegetables should never be washed before putting 
away for the winter, as they will not keep as well 
if they have been wet. Potatoes should never lie 
for any time exposed to the light, as this will cause 
them to turn green, and when they are placed in 
the cellar, should be kept covered with canvas, car- 
pet, or newspapers, but carpet is best. 

By the middle of winter it will be necessary to 
look the potato bins over carefully and to remove 
any tubers which may have begun to decay. One 
decaying tuber will produce thousands of fungus 
spores, which will contaminate the entire contents 
of the bins if not promptly removed. By the first 
of March, or even in February, the potatoes will 
have begun to sprout; especially will this be the 
case if the cellar is too warm and at all damp. They 
must then be gone over and all the sprouts rubbed 
off by hand. 

If the cellar is quite dry, a portion of the potato 

bins may be reserved for the onions, which require 

a cool, dry place to be kept dormant in. No great 

[228] 



STORING VEGETABLES IN WINTER 



amount of these will be stored for the winter use 
of a small family, and such of these as begin growth 
before being used may be planted out in the garden 
early in spring and will soon furnish messes of 
green onions for the table. 

Squashes are one of the most difficult of vege- 
tables to keep, as they are very susceptible to cold 
and moisture and must be kept warm and dry. 
An upstair room or garret will often be found an 
excellent place of storage. A room where a chim- 
ney passes through will often furnish sufficient 
heat, and if the squash are packed in barrels of dry 
leaves, excelsior, or buckwheat chaff, they will 
winter all right. Or they may, if few, be simply 
piled on the floor near the chimney and covered 
well with rugs, carpets, or something warm, and 
will usually come through all right. 

Beets, parsnips, carrots, and turnips, on the con- 
trary, need to be kept somewhat moist, and should 
be buried in damp earth, sand, or leaves. If one 
has a room in the cellar with earth walls and floors 
— what is known as a Michigan cellar — it will be 
an ideal place for these vegetables, and they may 
be simply piled in heaps on the floor and sufficient 
earth to cover thrown over them. This is the sim- 

[229] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



plest form of winter storage for these vegetables. 
The earth is right at hand and needs neither to be 
carried out nor brought in. In storing the beets and 
carrots, I usually leave the tops on and pile one 
layer on the floor, the tops all one way, and place 
over them a layer of earth, then another layer of 
vegetables and more earth, and so on, until the lot 
is covered. The presence of the tops make un- 
covering the roots less difficult, and I think helps 
to retain a certain amount of freshness in the 
vegetable. Turnips are always prepared by remov- 
ing all but about an inch of the tops and piling 
the earth over them. Treated in this way, they will 
all keep fresh and crisp until spring. Slightly 
moistened leaves make admirable covering for vege- 
tables and are much cleaner than soil and more 
easily used. 

Celery should be planted in boxes of damp sand 
or earth, drawing the earth up about the stems, as 
in the garden. Stored in this way, at a temperature 
of about 33°, it will keep fresh and crisp for a 
long time and be well blanched. Cauliflowers which 
have failed to mature their heads in the fall may 
be taken up and planted in shallow boxes of soil 

in the lightest part of the cellar and watered oc- 

[230] 



STORING VEGETABLES IN WINTER 



casionally and will then mature their heads and 
be a welcome addition to the winter bill of fare. 

Dry beans should be stored in a dry place — an 
upstair closet or cupboard — until wanted. They are 
not injured by freezing, and if more convenient, 
may be left in the barn till wanted. Salsify may 
be stored in damp sand, leaves, or soil, and a win- 
ter's supply of parsnips may have the same treat- 
ment, the main crop being left in the ground to be 
dug early in spring ere yet they have started to 
grow. Light is not necessary to plants stored in 
earth in the cellar, but sufficient air should be ad- 
mitted to the cellar to prevent any musty or mouldy 
odours or taste being communicated to the vege- 
tables. 

Where the cellar affords little or no room for 

storage, enough for immediate use may be placed 

in boxes of earth or sand and the remainder cached 

in the garden. To do this, it is only necessary to 

dig a shallow pit and pile the vegetables therein 

and bank earth over them. Only enough to cover 

them completely should be placed at first, but 

more should be added at the approach of severe 

weather and the whole covered with boards to shed 

rain. Placing straw over the vegetables before ad- 

[ 231 ] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



ding the dirt makes them a Httle easier to unearth 
when wanted, but does not make them keep any 
better. Of course, if the heap is a large one, it will 
be necessary to provide ventilation, and this may 
be done by placing a length or two of old stove- 
pipe in the centre of the heap and letting one end 
extend outside, where it should be masked with 
enough straw to shut out the cold but not to im- 
pede ventilation. Cabbages are very successfully 
kept by storing heads downward in a trench in 
which straw has been placed for a few inches in the 
bottom and covered up with earth above the tips 
of the roots and the ridge covered with boards to 
shed rain. A hotbed makes a very good place for 
storing cabbage, as it can be gotten into readily 
at any time during the winter. The earth should 
be removed as for fitting the bed in the spring; a 
layer of clean straw placed down on the bottom. 
The cabbages which have been pulled — not cut — ■ 
are placed head down on this and the heads covered 
with earth ; the remainder of the pit should be filled 
with straw or leaves to keep out the cold and the 
sash placed in position. Stored in this way, it is 
only necessary to reach down into the litter and 

pull out a head as wanted. 

[232] 



CHAPTER FIFTEEN 
THE GARDEN S ENEMIES 



1 HE price of a good garden and orchard is a 
never-ceasing warfare on insect pests and plant- 
diseases. 

^ut some will say, " What's the use of my keep- 
ing up the fight when my neighbour next door 
doesn't do anything, and insects and diseases of 
all kinds breed on his premises and then come over 
to mine? " 

It is true that the work is made much more diffi- 
cult without the co-operation of your neighbours, 
as it will have to be done continually and without 
much real satisfaction, but my advice is to keep 
up your efforts. Your neighbour may come to see 
his folly, but if he doesn't, laws will soon be en- 
acted, I believe, compelling owners to spray and 
care for infected trees and shrubs. 

Spraying merely frees us for the time being; it 

does not eradicate the pests entirely. If it did, we 

[233] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



shouldn't have any pests, because, no matter how 
much behind the times a person might be, he would 
make one supreme effort, and spray, to rid his 
garden of bugs and disease. We must spray con- 
tinually, and all our efforts will only keep the in- 
sects in check. This can be accomplished best by 
killing as many of the bugs as possible before they 
breed. 

The various pests may be expected to appear 
about as follows: 

April. — Aphis or green plant-lice and aspara- 
gus beetle. 

May. — Aphis, Colorado potato beetle, flea- 
beetle, cut-worms. 

June. — Cabbage worms. Harlequin or fire-bug, 
root maggot on cabbage and cauliflower, club root, 
corn ear-worm, striped beetle on cucumbers, mel- 
ons, and squashes, onion maggot, thrips. 

July. — Bean anthracnose, celery rust, squash 
bug, melon blight and mildew, tomato fruit 
worm. 

August. — Asparagus rust, celery caterpillar, 
mildew on peas, potato blight, potato scab, squash 
borer. 

The following is a list of the more common vege- 



THE GARDEN'S ENEMIES 



tables and the insects and plant diseases attacking 
them, with remedies or preventives: 

Asparagus. — Beetles. — Keep beds closely cut in 
spring and protect the stalks with poison, prefer- 
ably arsenate of lead. 

Rust, — Spray thoroughly a few times in July 
and August with diluted Bordeaux. Set plants on 
good land, and keep them in vigorous condition. 

Bean. — Anthracnose, — Spray with Bordeaux 
mixture when the first true leaf appears, making 
a second and third application when it is neces- 
sary to keep the foliage covered. 

Bean Beetle. — Kill grubs on under side of leaves 
with kerosene emulsion (1 to 8) or spray with 
arsenate of lead. 

Bean Weevil. — Fumigate beans for twenty-four 
hours in a tight vessel, using one tablespoonful of 
carbon bisulphide to the bushel. 

Flea Beetles. — Spray with poisoned Bordeaux 
mixture. 

Beet. — Leaf Spot. — Spray with Bordeaux mix- 
ture when four or five leaves have expanded, and 
repeat two or three times at intervals of ten to four- 
teen days. 

Cut-worms. — Use poisoned baits, and prevent 
[235] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



attack by early fall ploughing, harrowing, or 
disking. 

Cabbage and Cauliflower. — Aphis. — Spray 
with kerosene emulsion, or a whale-oil-soap solu- 
tion, when numerous, and repeat if necessary. 

Cabbage Worm. — Spray with a poisoned resin- 
lime mixture, if plants have not headed; otherwise 
use hellebore or kerosene emulsion. 

Club Root. — Large clubs or knobs on roots. 
Dig up and destroy all infested plants, and give 
soil a heavy dressing of lime. Never plant either 
of these vegetables on land known to be infected. 

Cut-worms. — Protect stems with bands of paper 
or use poisoned bait. 

Harlequin Cabbage Bug. — Sow mustard early 
as a catch crop and destroy the bugs thereon with 
kerosene, or resort to hand-picking. 

Root Maggot. — Protect plants with paper col- 
lars, or wet the surrounding soil with emulsion com- 
posed of one pound of soap, one gallon of boiling 
water, and one pint of crude carbolic acid diluted 
with thirty parts of water. 

Celery. — Blight. — Make fortnightly applica- 
tions of Bordeaux mixture until plants are one- 
half or two-thirds grown, then use an ammoniacal 

[236] 



THE GARDEN'S ENEMIES 



copper carbonate solution every ten to fifteen days, 
if the weather is rainy. 

Celery Worm. — A pea-green worm with black 
bands. Hand-pick and spray with Paris green or 
arsenate of lead. 

Corn. — Earworm. — A small worm which eats 
out the tip of the ear. Poison them by dropping 
dry Paris green in the axils of the leaves when 
plants are young. Plough deeply in fall and leave 
the land rough, so that frost can work through it 
thoroughly. 

Cucumber. — Aphis. — Spray vnih kerosene 
emulsion or whale-oil soap as soon as they are no- 
ticed. 

Striped Beetle. — A small black- and white- 
striped beetle which is very active. Protect plants 
when young by screens, and dust them when wet 
with dew with ashes or lime. Spray with Bordeaux 
mixture containing arsenate of lead every two 
weeks to keep foliage well covered. 

Squash Bug. — A dark-brown beetle which sucks 

the plant's juices. Hand-pick and destroy any eggs 

found on leaves. In the fall put down small boards 

or shingles, under which bugs will collect at night; 

gather and destroy. 

[237] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



Blight or Mildew. — Leaves become spotted or 
covered with down. Spray every two weeks with 
Bordeaux mixture. 

Onion. — Blight. — Spray with two - thirds 
strength Bordeaux mixture at ten-day intervals. 

Maggot. — Wet the surrounding soil with car- 
bolic-soap wash, or remove the soil about the plants 
in the morning, replacing at night, so as to allow 
some drying of soil about. the maggots. 

V'EA.— Aphis. — Spray with kerosene emulsion, 
or a whale-oil-soap solution, when it is necessary. 

Weevil. — Same as for bean weevil. 

Mildew. — White growth on stems and leaves. 
Spray with Bordeaux mixture containing resin 
wash to make it stick. 

Potato. — Colorado Beetle. — Spray with Paris 
green or arsenate of lead every two weeks. To save 
time, add the poison to Bordeaux mixture when 
spraying for blight. 

Flea Beetle. — Keep plants well covered with 
Bordeaux mixture. 

Blight. — Spray every two weeks with Bordeaux 
mixture. 

Scab. — Soak uncut tubers one and one-half 

hours in a solution of I/2 ounce of corrosive subli- 

[238] 



THE GARDEN'S ENEMIES 



mate to 8 gallons of water, or for two hours in a 
solution of one pint of formaldehyde to 15 gallons 
of water. 

Squash. — Squash Borer. — Slit infested stem, 
and destroy the borer, covering the injured part 
with earth. Employ early trap vines. 

Squash Bug. — Trap bugs under shingles laid 
about vines, destroying them every morning, and 
crush egg clusters. See, also, Cucumber. 

Sweet Potato. — Black Rot. — Select clean 
tubers, roll in sulphur, and, if possible, plant in soil 
free from infection. 

Flea Beetles, Tortoise Beetles. — Dip young 
plants in arsenate of lead mixture, and spray ten 
days later, if necessary. 

Tomato. — Leaf Blight. — Spray with Bordeaux 
mixture at seven- to ten-day intervals. 

Flea Beetle. — Spray with poisoned Bordeaux 
mixture as needed, 

^ Rot. — Treatment same as for leaf blight, though 
usually unsatisfactory. 

Tomato Worm. — Hand-picking ; spray with 
poison. 

Other Vegetables. — Cut-worms. — Protect base 
of plant stems with strips of paper reaching just 

[239] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



below the surface. Use poisoned bait, or dig out 
and destroy. 

POISON FORMULAS 

Many .of the remedies advocated may be secured 
ready-made at the seed stores for use in the small 
garden. These ready-made mixtures are much 
more convenient for the amateur than the mixing 
of them from the raw materials. It is often neces- 
sary, however, to use considerable quantities and 
special combinations. 

Combined Insecticides and Fungicides 

Poisoned Bordeaux. — Mix 4 ounces of Paris 
green, or 1 pound of arsenate of lead with 50 gal- 
lons of Bordeaux mixture (see formula under 
Fungicides ) . This is the standard remedy for leaf - 
eating insects and fungous diseases. 

Insecticides 

Paris Green. — Use 1 pound, with an equal 
weight of thoroughly slaked lime, in 100 to 300 
gallons of water. Keep well stirred while spraying. 

Arsenate of Lead. — Use the prepared paste 

form, at the rate of about 1 pound to 50 gallons of 

[240] 



THE GARDEN'S ENEMIES 



water, or it may be made by dissolving 1 1 ounces of 
acetate of lead (sugar of lead) in 4 quarts of water, 
in a wooden pail, and 4 ounces of arsenate of soda 
(50 per cent purity) in 2 quarts of water in an- 
other wooden pail. The process can be hastened by 
using warm water. Pour the solutions in from 25 
to 50 gallons of water, mix, and the insecticide is 
ready for use. 

Adhesive Poison. — Put 1 pint of fish oil, or 
any cheap animal oil except tallow, 5 pounds of 
resin, and 1 gallon of water in an iron kettle, and 
heat till the resin is softened, then add 1 pound of 
concentrated lye, in solution made as for hard soap ; 
stir thoroughly, add 4 gallons of water, and boil 
about two hours, or until the mixture unites with 
cold water, making a clear amber-coloured liquid, 
and dilute to 5 gallons. Mix 1 gallon of this solu- 
tion with 16 of water and three gallons of milk of 
lime, or thin whitewash; add thereto 14 pound of 
Paris green or other arsenical poison. Recom- 
mended for spraying cabbage and other crops 
that have foliage to which it is difficult to make the 
insecticide adhere. 

Poisoned Baits. — Dip fresh clover, lettuce, or 

other attractive leaves in strongly poisoned water 

[241 ] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



and distribute in infested localities. Twenty pounds 
dry middlings and 1 pound of Paris green, well 
mixed, is an attractive bait. A mash composed of 

1 pound of Paris green to 50 pounds of bran, and 
sweetened with cheap sugar or molasses, is very 
attractive to grasshoppers. Paris green 1 part, salt 

2 parts, and horse droppings (preferably fresh) 
35 to 40 parts by measure, thoroughly mixed with 
enough water to make a soft though not sloppy 
paste, is a valuable grasshopper poison. 

Kerosene Emulsion. — Dissolve y^ pound of 
soap in 1 gallon of boiling water, add 2 gallons 
of kerosene, and force through a pump repeatedly 
for five to ten minutes; dilute four to twenty-five 
times before applying. In lime regions, where the 
water is hard, use a sour-milk emulsion, made by 
thoroughly mixing 2 gallons of kerosene and 1 gal- 
lon of milk, as described above. 

Whale-oil-soap Solution. — Apply at the rate 
of ll/^ to 2 pounds to a gallon of water in the win- 
ter, and for summer use employ at least 4 gallons 
of water to each pound of soap. 

IvoRY-soAP Solution. — Dissolve a five-cent 

cake in 8 gallons of water. Good for house plants. 

Hellebore. — Mix thoroughly 1 ounce of fresh 
[242] 



THE GARDEN'S ENEMIES 



white hellebore with 3 gallons of water. Use on 
fruits. 

Tobacco Dust. — This waste from tobacco fac- 
tories may be used freely in trenches around trees 
with roots infested with aphids. 

Carbolic-soap Wash. — Thin 1 gallon of soft 
soap with an equal amount of hot water, and stir 
in 1 pint of crude carbolic acid (1/^ pint refined) 
and allow this to set over night, then dilute with 
8 gallons of water. Or dissolve 1 gallon of soft soap 
in 6 gallons of a saturated solution of washing soda. 
Add 1 pint of crude carbolic acid and mix thor- 
oughly. Slake enough lime in 4 gallons of water 
so that a thick whitewash will result, then add l/o 
pound of Paris green and mix the whole together. 
Recommended for borers. 

Fungicides 

Normal or 1.6 Per Cent Bordeaux Mix- 
ture. — Dissolve 6 pounds of copper sulphate, by 
hanging it in a bag of coarse cloth in an earthen 
or wooden vessel containing 4 to 6 gallons of water, 
and then dilute with 25 gallons. Slake 4 pounds 
of lime diluting to 25 gallons and mix by pouring 

the two solutions into a third vessel. 

[243] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



The amount of copper sulphate should be re- 
duced to 4 pounds for peaches and Japanese plums, 
and some have used but 2 pounds each of copper 
sulphate and lime to 50 gallons, with excellent re- 
sults. Employ the weaker formula whenever the 
normal proves too strong. 

Ammoniacal Copper Carbonate. — Make a 
paste of 5 ounces of copper carbonate with a little 
water, and dilute 3 pints of ammonia (26 Beaume) 
with 7 or 8 volumes of water. Add the paste to the 
diluted ammonia, stirring till dissolved, and add 
enough water to make 45 gallons. Allow it to settle 
and use only the clear blue liquid. This mixture 
loses strength on standing. 

Potassium-sulphide Solution. — Dissolve % 
to 1 ounce of potassium sulphide (liver of sulphur) 
to 1 gallon of water. 

Copper-sulphate Solution. — Dissolve 1 pound 
of copper sulphate (blue vitriol) in 15 to 25 gal- 
lons of water. Never apply this to the foliage. Use 
only before the buds break. For peaches and nec- 
tarines, dilute with 25 gallons of water. 

Formalin. — Dilute 1 pound (1 pint) with 50 
gallons of water, sprinkle on grain, stirring thor- 
oughly and leave in piles for several hours for grain 

[ 244 ] 



THE GARDEN'S ENEMIES 



smut. Use 1 pound to 30 gallons of water and soak 
seed potatoes therein for about 2 hours, for potato 
scab. 

There are many kinds of apparatus for spray- 
ing, such as power-sprayers, barrel-pumps, bucket- 
sprayers, and hand-sprayers, and they usually come 
fitted with proper nozzles. Where the work must 
be done by one person, the air-pressure sprayers 
are the best, as the machine can be charged, and 
all attention can be directed to the spraying. The 
5 -gallon size is best for the small garden. 

Another very good sprayer for the amateur with 
a small garden is a bucket spray-pump. These are 
the cheapest pumps on the market. Some sell for 
as low as two dollars, but I wouldn't advise any 
one's buying the cheapest. Pay from four to five 
dollars, and get a good one, with all the working 
parts of brass, which, with good care, will last a 
number of years. This style of sprayer comes with 
a short hose, which is convenient for spraying low 
shrubs and vegetables ; but, if you have a few trees 
to spray, it will be necessary to buy an extra 
twenty-five feet of hose. To spray the tops of them, 
tie the nozzle on the end of a rake handle, and 
stand on a step-ladder to reach the highest parts. 

[245] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



For this work you will need two persons — one to 
pump and the other to direct the spray. 

Another form of spray-pump is the knapsack- 
sprayer. The idea of it is very good, but tKey are 
never tight, and the motion of walking slops the 
liquid over the one doing the work. When using 
one of these, it is necessary to wear a rubber coat. 

If you are on friendly terms with your neigh- 
bours, and your garden and grounds are not large 
enough to warrant your investing in a sprayer by 
yourself, why not buy a good barrel-sprayer on 
shares? This will necessitate your giving each other 
a hand in the spraying, but the work can be done 
in much less time, and more effectively. 

No matter what kind of a sprayer you have, 
always clean it thoroughly after using it, as some 
of the chemicals used in spraying, if allowed to 
remain in the pump, will destroy it in a short time. 



[246] 



CHAPTER SIXTEEN 
FALL WORK IN THE GARDEN 



r ALL work practically closes the year's work in 
the garden, while, at the same time, it may be said 
to be introductory and initiative to the beginning 
of another season's work, as it clears the way for 
the first operations of the spring, and, if thorough- 
ly done, simplifies it in a marked degree. 

The first thing in order will be to clear away all 
rubbish that may have accumulated during the 
summer, and pile it on the compost heap, or if it is 
of a character not likely to be infested with the 
larvi of insects, to use it as a winter mulch about 
the trunks of fruit trees, about the rhubarb rows, 
or as a winter protection for the asparagus bed. 
If, however, the rubbish be in the nature of weeds, 
in which seeds exist, the best course will be to rake 
it into a light, dry pile and burn it. The resulting 
ashes will be of benefit to the garden. 

The presence of sod along fence rows and about 
[247] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



the roots of trees is objectionable, and the fall is 
a good time to get rid of it, as after the fall rains 
have thoroughly soaked the ground, it is easily 
lifted and may be used to protect the beds of tea- 
roses, wrapping a chunk of sod — grass-side out — 
about the roots of each plant, forming a cone, and 
securing it with a stout piece of binder twine if 
necessary. Or it may be piled in a heap, with alter- 
nating layers of cow manure, and left to decay 
until spring, when it may be used to enrich the 
rose or peony beds or other plants requiring fer- 
tilising. Again, it may be left where dug, simply 
turning it grass-side down about the trees or vines 
from which it was removed, until spring, when, if 
sufficiently decayed, it may be worked into the 
soil. 

The fall is a good time in which to prepare for 
a very early crop of peas by trenching the ground 
where they are to be planted, filling in a generous 
quantity of well-rotted manure and placing the 
necessary amount of earth above this to receive the 
seed, leaving that portion which will be placed over 
the seed in a ridge along the trenches. The action 
of the frost will keep it loose and mellow, and as 

soon as the ground has dried sufficiently in the 

[248] 



FALL WORK IN THE GARDEN 



spring the seed may be gotten into the ground 
with the least possible delay and labour. 

It is possible that at this season there will remain 
a number of cabbage and cauliflower plants, espe- 
cially the latter, which have failed to make heads. 
These may be Hfted and planted in coldframes, 
or even protected where they are by banking the 
earth about the stems and protecting the tops with 
straw, and used for very early planting in the 
spring. Or if a few rough boards can be run along 
one side of them where they stand to form a shel- 
ter from the west wind and a little litter of corn 
fodder thrown over them to form a shed, they will 
usually come through all right. 

If a similar protection is given the parsley bed, 
using evergreen boughs, if procurable, for the 
shelter on the leaward side, parsley can usually be 
had all winter. 

Every effort should be made at this season to 
get rid of all insect pests which hibernate in any 
form; a few hours spent in this work will be well 
repaid. The cut-worm, which is the first pest to ap- 
pear and cause trouble in the spring, hibernates 
in the worm form usually and may be discovered 
along the edges of the sod land under boards and 

[ 249 j 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



other rubbish which He close to the ground ; he does 
not go far in the earth at this time of year, and a 
hght scraping of the surface of the ground will 
unearth him in numbers ; wherever found, he should 
be killed at once. Most of the borers change into 
smooth, brown chrysalids in the fall, and are found 
in the ground not far from the surface. Fall 
ploughing and spading is of much benefit, as it de- 
stroys considerable numbers of these pests. The 
cabbage butterfly lays its eggs and hatches out 
the succulent green worm, which, arriving at an 
adult stage, spins itself a silken chrysalid which is 
transmitted into a hard, paper-like shell, which will 
be found attached to the underside of the window 
sills, house siding, and other favourable places, the 
worms sometimes travelling considerable distances 
to find favourable winter quarters, the shelter they 
require being of the slightest, a quarter of an inch 
of projecting wood seeming to meet all require- 
ments. 

The tomato worm enters the ground to a con- 
siderable depth before changing into the large 
brown chrysalid, with its curious-shaped handle, 
which is the case for its equally curious tongue. In 

studying these worms at close range, it was always 

[250] 



FALL WORK IN THE GARDEN 



one of the difficulties in their rearing to give them 
boxes of earth of sufficient depth to induce them 
to change at the right time. They would enter the 
earth and penetrate to the bottom and return again 
and again to the surface, each time more irritable 
and uneasy, until finally Nature proved too much 
for them and they were compelled to accept condi- 
tions as they found them. It is a very fascinating 
study — this of the moths and butterflies — when 
one can watch them through the four changes — 
winged creature, infinitesimal egg, the curious, 
often beautiful, worm, and its still more curious 
shell and cradle through which it braves the storm 
of winter as it waits for the resurrection of the 
spring. The worms lose much of their repulsive- 
ness when studied at close range, and in captivity 
soon come to know one and to show none of the 
signs of irritation displayed by the wild worms, or 
the tame ones in the presence of strangers. 

Many gardeners make a practice of hauling 
manure to the garden in the fall, that it may 
leach into the soil during the winter and be ready 
to turn under in the spring; this is of doubtful 
value, as much of the substance of the manure is 
lost. A better plan w^ould be to pile the manure 

[251] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



under shelter, where it would be protected from 
the action of the elements, and to fork it over often 
during the winter to prevent heating, and then to 
draw it on the land early in spring while yet the 
ground is frozen enough to get on to it easily. In 
a small garden plot it is seldom, if ever, necessary 
to use much rough manure, and it will be well to 
fork out all the cornstalks and coarse material and 
pile them in a heap to burn, or better compost 
them, as they are nothing but a nuisance in a 
garden. ' 

In February the wood ashes which may have ac- 
cumulated during winter may be spread on the 
asparagus beds and along the rhubarb rows, and, 
if there are enough, about the fruit trees and berry 
bushes. 

If one has a few choice fruit trees it will be time 
well spent to give them a coat of whitewash at the 
approach of severe weather and again at intervals 
during the winter, making at least three applica- 
tions, the last to precede the cold waves of Feb- 
ruary and March, according to locality. This will 
protect the trees by preventing the absorption of 
sun heat and enable them to withstand the rigours 

of the winter. 

[252] 



FALL WORK IN THE GARDEN 



A heavy mulch about the roots of the fruit trees 
in any section where there is a hght or no snow- 
fall will be of the greatest benefit. 

It is a good plan to place the manure directly 
on the ground in the fall or early winter under the 
trees; it is also an excellent time to secure it and 
so have it in readiness for early spring use, and if 
there is no convenient place in which to store it, 
it may still be engaged and its time of delivery 
fixed, always remembering that old manure is what 
is wanted and that that will be found at the bot- 
tom of the pile, and it should be clearly stipulated 
that this is what is to be delivered. 

If any seeds have been saved from the garden, 
these should be sorted out and stored in properly 
labelled bags or boxes against the time they will 
be wanted in the spring. In addition to the label 
the packets should always bear the date of their 
saving, as seeds are often carried over from year 
to year, and, not being dated, quite old seeds, unfit 
for planting, often comes to be used much to the 
hindrance and loss of the gardener. While seeds 
are little affected by frost, I prefer to store them 
in a dry, frost-proof place if possible, and it is espe- 
cially important that thej^ be kept out of the reach 

[253] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



of mice, which much enjoy a banquet of melon, 
squash, or pumpkin seeds and do not disdain less 
succulent morsels. 

The long winter evenings and any stormy days 
which find one at leisure may profitably be spent 
in getting ready for spring work, by putting all 
the tools in first-class order, painting them when 
necessarj^, oiling and sharpening them to a work- 
ing edge. Racks for tomatoes may be manufac- 
tured quickly and cheaply by using three or four 
stakes with pointed ends and a couple of iron or 
wooden barrel hoops. These are nailed to the top 
of the stakes and to a point nine or ten inches be- 
low and are set over the plants as soon as they 
begin to make growth. Boxes for covering the 
melon hills may also be prepared and the frame 
for the hotbeds, if one is not already supplied with 
that convenience. Stakes for marking rows of vege- 
tables will be little work to prepare and will save 
time in the hurry of planting. 

IVIany of the racks and trellises used about the 

garden during the summer will serve for another 

season if taken up and stored in a dry place over 

winter; especially will this be the case if any metal 

or wire parts are concerned. Fences and walks 

[254] 



FALL WORK IN THE GARDEN 



should be given attention and put in condition to 
stand the weather. Gates are prone to sag on the 
hinges and posts to work loose under the force of 
a winter's gale, and an hour's work in this portion 
of the yard may save a day's work during the busy 
time of spring. 

And last, but not least, it will be a good plan to 
make a brief but orderly record of the season's 
work, noting down all failures and their cause, 
recording all new information which has been 
gained, such as the amount of time it requires for 
the various seeds to germinate, the length of time 
it takes for the different vegetables to come into 
bearing, the proportion of seed which germinated, 
the causes, as far as known, for any seed to fail to 
grow, the quality of the several varieties of vege- 
tables, and any data as to better varieties grown in 
a neighbour's or market gardener's grounds. 

All this data will be of value in starting the 
next season's garden, and will be always available 
and reliable, which is seldom the case where the 
memory alone takes charge of these items. 

The record may also give account of the expendi- 
tures and receipts, though, as far as this goes, it 

is sometimes more comfortable not to look too 

[255] 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 

closely into the details when gardening for pleasure 
or for the privilege of eating one's own vegetables. 
One must sacrifice something in learning to gar- 
den, just as the young housewife sacrifices her 
eggs and butter and flour in learning to cook; it 
is the resultant knowledge, after all, which counts, 
and if the work is done in one's spare time, with 
little labour hired, the balance cannot be far on 
the wrong side. 



[256] 



A Practical Planting Table for Vegetables 

In planning the vegetable-garden it is advisable to make a diagram of the vegetable-garden on paper, making it large enough so that each 
row can be shown together with the vegetable which will grow in it. Provide for a succession, for a great deal of the ground can grow two 
crops; i. e., late cabbage and celery can follow early peas, turnips for winter use can be grown on the same land that grew the early potj. 
toes. In this way the ground can be producing something the season through. The time of planting will vary with the latitude; for 
every loo miles allow six days, north or south of New York. The varieties mentioned as best for growing must be taken as types only 
because all seedsmen may not handle the varieties here given, but they can always supply another variety belonging to the same type, which 
will give equally good results. 



Artichoke, Globe . 



Beans, Bush Lima . 



Beans, Pole Lima . 



Beans, Wax . 

Beans, Pole.. 
Beets 



Broccoli . 



Indoors Outdoobs 



February 



April 
Mar., April 

May 

May 

May-Aug. 

May 
April-Aug. 



Seed NactssASV 



[ ounce for 500 
plants 



24x36 



36x36 

12x24 

36x36 
9x18 



24x36 



September 



April-June 



June, July 



August to frost 



August to frost 



July, 



August to frost 
July on 



July-October 



Cultural Information 



a ; second early, 

Large White ; 

e ten-foot poles 

in the beans. 




French Globe is the standard sort. Grow in rich 
soil. Is grown for the flower-heads which 
are gathered before they open. Bears for 
two or three years if given slight protection. 
Barr's Mammoth, Colossal and Palmetto bcsl 
green varieties. Mammoth White has white 
stalks. Needs rich soil. Cut bed lightly first 
season. Cut off and burn stalks in fall. 
As hardy as peas. For early crop plant Early 
Mazagan ; mam crop, Broad Windsor. Wheii 
pods have formed break off top of plant to 
force strength into pods. 
For early crop plant Henderson's; second 
early, Dreer's; main crop, Large Bush. Plant 
the eye" down. Use commercial fertilizer 
in row. Needs warm land. 
For early crop plant Early Sic 
Early Jersey ; main crop 
late crop, Dreer's Pole, U 
and plant them before putt.,.^ ... 

For early crop plant Early Valentin^ , „^^. 

early, Refugee Wax ; main crop, Golden 
Wax; late crop. Early Valentine. Sow every 
two weeks for succession. 
For early crop plant Kentucky Wonder. Dutch 
Caseknife, and Lazy Wife are good, but later. 
All will bear until frost. 
Forearlycrop, Egyptian; second early, Eclipse; 
main crop, Edmund's ; late crop, Egyptian. 
Sow early varieties every two weeks, using 
beets when small and tender. 
Similar to cauliflower, but better adapted th 
it for the cool North. For early crop grc .. 
Early White ; main crop. Mammoth White 
or Purple Cape. 
Good varieties .are Long Island, Salkeith, Half 
Dwarf. Not good until touched by frost. 
Are hardy, so may be left outdoors during 
winter if protected with straw or corn-stalks. 
For early, plant Early Jersey Wakefield; second 
early, All Head ; main crop. Late Flat 
Dutch. Late crop can be planted on land 
on which early peas were grown. 
Good varieties are Large Spanish, Large SoL 
Grow on rich ground. When three feet hieh 
tie topstogetlier, protect with straw and draw 
earth about stems to blanch. 
For early crop plant Early Forcing; second 
early, main crop, Danvers ; late crop, Earlv 
Forcing, For continuous crop of small ten 
der roots sow bi-weekly. 
For earliest crop sow Earliest Dwarf Erfurt' 
second early, Early Snowball ; main crop' 
Algiers; late crop, Earliest Dwarf Erfurt 
Needs cool weather and rich, moist soil. 
For earliest crop grow White Plume- sero„,4 
early. Golden Self-blanching; ma n cr " 
Giant Pascal. Give an abundatlce of a n[tvK' 
genous manure like nitrate of soda 
No choice as to varieties. Commence cutting, 
when leaves are six inches hiph v^ 
beinr^ns"' '°™''- ^""^ ^"^ '"vefil^ 
For early plant^Peep OlDny; second early 



Golden Bantam; mid-scason, CroTi;-.- 
Twelve-rowed ; main crop, plant evl .^^ 
weeks, Stowell's Evergreen "^ '*« 

•own mostly for fall salad. Good o.,k .■ 
for lettuce. Will live outdoors alfv, J""' 
given a protection of straw or leaves "'" '' 

Of the garden cress sow Curled or Ilm .. 
every two weeks; when cut it InVP''"** 
again. Water cress can be grown „ J™* 
soil as well as in water. ^ ^" '" damp 

For early crop grow Early White <;■,!. 

ond early, Cool and Crisp main ^?'* i, *«" 
Green, Start a few plams";^:??' Long 
inverted sods, ' '"' '"doors oi 

Grown for pot herb, Thevare i.r<....T ■ 

by blanching which i"<Ione\v rnj" ™P'-oved 
an A.shapcd trough Goo/ .'"^S with 
French Garden, ThickleCd /"''"''■es are 

New York Spineless is the b«l'-'?"''^''«'l 
set plants in garden l?,'™";';'-. Do not 
oughly warm and there is aoK,. '^„"'<>f- 
Y^'hj sow White Cirled It^^f" °"™«. 
Curled or Broad-le.aved. Make .?''• *^'«n 
sowinir everv t,..^ .. "''•Ke successive 

For 



sowing every two „, 
winter use store plants 



f the cella 



^ "URBAN LIKE By .IE KI.N" 




Grow and give the same attention as for cab- 
bage. Good v.inelies are Dwarf Green 
Curled Scotch, Dwarf Curled Brown. Sow 
Siberian in September for early "greens." 

For early crop grow Short-leaved Early White 
Vienna or Early Purple Vienna in frames 
main crop. Early White Vienna. Gather 
when bulbs are three inches in diameter. 

For early grow Grand Rapids, a loose head; 
second early. Curled Simpson; main crop! 
Salamander. During hot weather protect 
lettuce from hot midday sun. 

Express Cos, Trianon Cos good varieties. 
Blanch by tying leaves together with raffia. 
Seem to resist heat well. Need deep rich 
soil and plenty of nitroge 



For early, Netted Gem; second e.arly, Emerald 
Gem; main crop. Long Island Beauty. 
Prefer a moist sandy soil. Spray with Bor- 
deaux mixture to prevent blight and mildew. 
For early crop Early Fordhook ; second early, 
Cole's Early, main crop, Cuban Queen. 
Watermelons prefer a light, sandy, hut 
moist soil. Spray with Bordcinx mixture. 
Good varieties are Chinese or White London. 
Make successive sowing every ten days or 
two weeks. Mustard adds a pleasant pun 
gent flavor to salads. 
Good varieties Dwarf Prolific, White Velvet, 
Long Green, Used for flavoring guinho 
soup. Pick pods when one to two inches 
long. Surplus can be dried or canned. 
For earliest crop plant onion sets; for main 
crop, White (lliihe or Prizetaker. Latter 
variety si. nil ,1 ,,ul\ under glass and trans- 
planted t.,..;.. n In Sl.n 
Goodvari^li' s Mn.,.(inK il, Fern-leaved. Used 
lorgannslH is. Sn.il; sri-d for several hours 
in lukewarm water to hasten germination. 
Hamburg or Turnip-rooted has fleshy root. 
For early plant Early Round; main crop. 
Hollow Crown. Much improved by kecpini; 
over winter in ground. To be available at 
any time give mulch. 
For earlycrop, Daniel 0'Rourte;second early, 
Nott's E,tcelsior; main crop, Champion of 
England; late, Daniel O'Rourke, Late crop 
subject to mildew. 
These are edible-podded peas which are picked 
while the pea or seed is still small and the 
pod tender. They are broken up, cooked 
and served like string beans. 
For early plant Neapolitan; second early, Bill 
Nose; main crop. Ruby Knig. Neapul.tai 
has a very sweet flesh and is the best for 
cooking, . , 

For early crop. Early Rose; second earl,, 
Beauty of Ilebrr- • ■ ■ •■ 



., ..r Green Mot 
mixture and I's 



s gre 



.Spr,, 



crop, t 



willi Horde, 



mixture ana ra.i»s'i'" '-_ , 

K.r Two good varieties for pies are Sugar and 
September '"n„f,t.ird Must be stored m a warm (45 1 
' dry pl.™; or they will rot. Plant among 
corn to save room. 

ro7«'ntVr:Half long Black'snanis^. Make 
successive sowing once a week. 

«orT:^caa'i."-"dti:J.S%T 
oots'Tdamp sand in cellar. It has .he 
smaHesJseedSf any vegetable. 

Unn.us Victoria S.Mar.;n,ar^e__an^^ 

J^f^el over^plal'u al^sSrround it with fresh 

f>'imf°h?c:Tla"picked in d!amp sand. Used 
L '"Ser^TOcMlveTln fall for early 

tor?a good for spring sowing. 

N0->- S'-ISe" ,S"cn:'idfuSerw''.fe'„' 
s'^trwn.tti-v. use the ends o, the 

. "TrSv'crop VVhltTBush Scallop, Yellow 

■^"rrnnkneck Thc-se are summer squashes. 

^rt"nler use grow B°»'»" M/""" "^ 

Hubbard. Dust with lime or ashes. 

HuDoar Earllana; second early. 

P°'^'''',\Z% • nwin crop. Acme and Stone. 

J,Vh brown paper to protect from cutworm . 

- .,,l« »row ICarly Milan; second early, 

■^"^ rnll^tfo White r,lobe; lale crop, Ruta- 

S TlTe lalu'r need no. be sown until 

„ ■*" ,uMrious sauash vegetable. Must be 
^'Sckfd before r3il7^ma..i?e .as with snnnmer 

Sshes English grows nine inches Iouk. 

Italian Iwcn.y inches long. 



i 



INDEX 



Ammoniacal copper carbonate, 244. 

Anthracnose, 234, 235. 

Aphis, 234, 237. 

Arsenate of lead, 240. 

Artichoke, 70. 

Ashes, 46. 

Asparagus, 23, 206, 235. 

beetle, 234. 

cooking, 212. 

forcing, 210. 

Bait, poisoned, 95, 241. 
Bean, 23, 26, 104, 231, 235. 
Beans, lima, 105. 

recipe for cooking, 107. 
Beetle, asparagus, 234, 235. 

bean, 235. 

flea, 234, 235, 239. 

potato, 234, 238. 

striped, 180, 237. 
Beets, 23, 50, 78, 142, 235. 

cooking, 143. 
Berries, 28. 
Blight, celery, 236. 

cucumber, 238. 

melon, 234. 

potato, 234. 
Bone, 38. 

Bordeaux mixture, 235, 240, 243. 
Borer, 234, 239, 250. 

Cabbage, 10, 14, 15, 23, 27, 50, 65, 
70, 78, 85, 95, 109, 232, 234, 
236, 249. 
recipe for cooking. 111. 



Cabbage, to prevent cracking, 110. 

worm, 234, 250. 
Carbolic soap wash, 243. 
Carbon bisulphide, 235. 
Carrots, 10, 23, 145, 229. 

cooking, 147. 
CauliHower, 10, 14, 23, 27, 65, 70, 95, 
113, 236, 249. 

cooking, 116. 
Celery, 15, 50, 230, 236, 237. 
Club root, 234, 236. 
Coldframe, 48, 53, 70, 249. 
Compost heap, 247. 
Concrete, 59. 
Copper carbonate, ammoniacal, 244. 

sulphate solution, 244. 
Corn, 8, 10, 23, 78, 118, 237. 

cooking, 121. 

ear-worm, 234, 237. 

salad, 26, 196. 
Cress, serving, 195. 

upland, 195. 

water, 195. 
Cucumber, 5, 24, 25, 26, 78, 176, 179, 
181, 234, 237. 

pickles, 185. 

serving, 183. 
Cultivation, 91. 
Cultivator, horse, 98. 
Currants, 5. 
Cutworms, 94, 234, 235, 239, 249. 



Damping ofT, 68. 
Diseases, 233. 



[257] 



INDEX 



Egg plant, 64, 65, 85, 122. 

cooking, 124. 
Endive, 26, 196. 

salad, 197. 
Enemies, garden, 233. 

Fall work, 247. 
Fertiliser, 26, 29, 209. 

amount to apply, 35, 42. 
Fire bug, 234. 
Flea beetle, 234, 239. 
Formalin, 244. 
Fungicides, 243. 
Fungus, 235. 

Garden, planning the, 22. 

site of, 12. 
Gardening, cooperative, 9. 
Gooseberry, 5. 
Grape, 5. 

Harlequin bug, 234, 236. 
Hellebore, 242. 
Herbicide, 6. 
Hoe, 99. 

wheel, 96. 
Horseradish, 221. 
Hotbed, 47, 53. 

manure for, 59. 
Humus, 14, 29. 

Insecticides, 235, 240. 
Insects, 233. 
Irrigation, 18. 
Ivory soap, 242. 

Kale, 198. 

Kerosene emulsion, 242. 

Leaf blight, 239. 
spot, 235. 



Lettuce, 23, 26, 50, 70, 73, 78, 198. 

serving, 200. 
Lime, 44. 

Maggot, 234, 236, 238. 
Mangoes, pickled, 188. 
Manure, 30, 59. 

green, 31. 
Melon, 5, 10, 24, 25, 26. 78, 176, 186, 

234, 
pickle, 187. 
Mildew, 234, 238. 
Mulch, 89, 91, 150, 181, 208, 247, 

253. 
Mustard, 26, 201. 

Nitrogen, 34, 35. 

Okra, 125. 

Onion, 10, 18, 26, 50, 78, 149, 238. 

cooking, 152. 

maggot, 234. 

transplanting, 151. 

Paris green, 5, 95, 160, 240, 242. 
Parsley, 26, 223, 249. 
Parsnip, 10, 153, 229. 

cooking, 155. 
Peas, 8, 10, 23, 26, 78, 130, 238, 248. 

cooking, 133. 
Pepper, 64, 65, 85, 127. 

cooking, 128. 
Phosphoric acid, 38. 
Plant protectors, 254. 
Plants, hardening of, 84. 

protection for, 66, 68, 82, 89, 
254. 
Poison, 5, 6, 240. 

adhesive, 241. 

[258] 



INDEX 



Poisoned bait, 95, 241. 
Potash, 40. 

Potassium-sulphide, 244. 
Potatoes, 10, 23, 27, 40, 157, 227, 
238. 
cooking, 163. 
Potato beetle, 160, 234. 
Protection, winter, 249. 
Pumpkins, 24. 

Radish, 8, 23, 26, 50, 73, 169. 
Recipe, asparagus loaf, 214. 
omelette, 214. 
on toast, 215. 
soup, 212. 
beans, cooking, 107, 108, 109. 
bean salad, 108. 
bechamel sauce, 215. 
beets, baked, 143. 
boiled, 144. 
greens, 143. 
stewed, 144. 
cabbage, cooking. 111. 

salad, 113. 
carrots, cooking, 147. 
cauliflower, boiled, 117. 
fried, 117. 
pickled, 118. 
corn, boiling, 121. 
fritters, 121. 
soup, 121. 
cress serving, 195. 
cucumber a la creme, 184. 
pickles, 185. 
serving, 183. 
egg plant, fried, 124. 

stuffed, 125. 
endive salad, 197. 
lettuce salad, 201. 
mangoes, pickled, 188, 

[ 



Recipe, melon pickle, 187. 
mustard as greens, 202. 
okra soup, 126. 
onion, fried, 152. 

stuffed, 152. 
parsnip, boiled, 155. 
fried, 155. 
fritters, 156. 
stewed, 156. 
peas, cooking, 133. 
peppers, fried, 128. 
pickled, 130. 
stuffed, 129. 
potato, boiled, 163, 
croquets, 167. 
fillets, 168. 
fried, 163, 167. 
lyonnaise, 165. 
puffs, 164. 
scalloped, 166. 
souffle, 164. 
pumpkin pie, 192. 
rhubarb pie, 219. 

sauce, 221. 
salsify, fried, 172. 
slaw, 112. 
spinach balls, 205. 
boiled, 203. 
cream of, 204. 
squash, baked, 191. 
boiled, 191. 
pie, 192. 
succotash, 108. 
tomato, fried, 139. 
scalloped, 138. 
soup, 139. 
stewed, 137. 
stuffed, 138. 
with macaroni, 138. 
Records, 255. 

259] 



INDEX 



Rhubarb, 23, 217. 

cooking, 219. 

forcing, 218. 
Rust asparagus, 234, 235. 

celery, 234. 

Salads, 194. 

lettuce, 201. 
Salsify, 78, 171. , 

cooking, 171. 
Scale, 234, 238. 
Seeds, order early, 76. 

sowing, 75. 

stormy, 253. 
Soil testing, 45. 
Spade, 101. 
Spinach, 26, 78, 202. 

cooking, 203. 
Spraying, 160, 233, 235. 

apparatus, 245. 
Squash, 5, 23, 24, 26, 176, 189, 229, 
234, 239. 

bug, 237, 239. 

cooking, 191. 
Storing vegetables, 226. 
Sweet potato, 239. 



Tankage, 36, 39. 
Thomas slag, 38. 
Thrip, 234. 
Tobacco, 40. 

dust, 243. 
Tomato, 10, 23, 27, 64, 65, 78, 93, 
95, 134. 

cooking, 136. 

rot, 239. 

worm, 234, 239, 250. 
Tool shed, 17. 
Tools, 96. 

cleaning, 254. 
Transplanting, 69, 84, 151. 
Trellis, 254. 
Trenching, 248. 
Turnips, 78, 172, 229, 230. 

cooking, 173. 

Water-cress, 195. 

Weevil, 235, 238. 

Weeds, 6. 

Whale oil soap, 242. 

Wheel-hoe, 96. 

Whitewash on fruit trees, 252. 

Wood ashes, 252. 



THE END 



[260] 



THE COUNTRY HOME 
LIBRARY 

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the country. The Orchard and Fruit Gai^den 
is the most practical handbook on the market 
to the cultivation of fruits and berries, and 
The Vegetable Garden has no peer as a guide 
to the amateur who would obtain the best 
results in vegetable growing. 

Additional volumes are in preparation, 
THE McCLURE COMPANY 



THE COUNTRY HOME LIBRARY 

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By IDA M. BENNETT 

A POPULAR yet sound and scientific exposition of 
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the small garden, the book has excellent chapters on 
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up-to-date and full of the most practical information. 

Twenty-seven photographic illustrations (^16 full-page), 276 pp., 

ivith complete planting tables and index. 

Postpaid, $1.62; net, $1.50 

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most entertaining." Cleveland Leader. 

Fully Illustrated. Postpaid, $2.17; net, $2.00 



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*■ the site and building the house. It is these subjects 
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Illustrated. Postpaid, $1.62 ; net, $1.50 



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